DrArthur Parkinson

Arthur's research lies at the interface between urban design, planning, architectural conservation, and critical heritage studies. His research examines the role of diverse forces in shaping the historic built environment, and the conflict that can result. It also seeks to develop the role of policy and practice in ameliorating this conflict, and in planning for, and designing in, the built environment more generally.

Arthur's research related to the cultural politics of heritage focuses on the role of competing values in conservation-planning, in design in historic contexts, and in cultural landscapes more widely. These competing values play a key role in shaping conflict in planning and place-making processes, with implications for decision-making in both policy-making and practice. Arthur’s research has examined the role of the competing discourses that underpin conflict in built heritage policy-making and conservation practice in a variety of urban and small town contexts, to help understand how certain priorities become institutionalised, translate to policy, and are reflected in practice outcomes, whilst other competing priorities can be downplayed or ignored. His research draws on a range of theoretical perspectives and, in particular, has deployed both dialectical-relational and discourse-historical approaches to Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) to understand the social construction of conservation and heritage values, regulation, and practices.

Related to the themes above, Arthur is also interested in exploring the novel application of visual methods in research and practice, to better understand the contrasting meanings ascribed to the historic built environment.

Arthur welcomes applications from potential PhD candidates interested in research related to themes including the following: conservation-planning; built heritage policy and practice; heritage values; the cultural politics of heritage; and (urban) design in historic contexts.