Our Associates: John Bryson

An economic geographer whose research focusses on understanding people and organisations in place and space and the ways in which place-based adaptation occurs including understanding barriers and enablers to adaptation. He has made significant contributions to understanding and explaining the complex ways in which production is organized through space and in place and via a variety of forms of enterprise.

Much of his research has focussed on developing an integrated approach to understanding city-regions. This includes research on property development and investment, financialization, infrastructure, knowledge-intensive services, manufacturing adaptation and innovation, alternative forms of innovation including end-user innovation, urban sustainability and resilience, air quality and environmental pollution, productivity, internationalisation, service offshoring and manufacturing reshoring, and innovation systems. One of his cross-cutting research interests includes understanding responsible business including approaches to responsible inclusive prosperity. This is placed in the context of rapid adaptation during times of disruptive and radical change. This includes citizen-led end-user innovation and the development of alternative solutions in response to private and public sector failure. His research on responsible citizenship has explored the role that responsible citizens play in overcoming local infrastructure failure in the context of resilience and the management of resilience. His latest books include Service Business: Theory and Practice (Palgrave, 2020), Ordinary Cities: Extraordinary Geographies (Edward Elgar, 2021, in press) and Living with Pandemics: People, Place and Policy (Edward Elgar, 2021, in press).