Professor Nigel Walford
Faculties, deparments and locations
- Faculty of Engineering, Computing and the Environment
- Department of Geography, Geology and the Environment
- School of Engineering and the Environment
- Penrhyn Road
Professor of Applied GIS
- Email:
- n.walford@kingston.ac.uk
About
I studied Geography as an undergraduate in the interdisciplinary context of the University of Sussex in the 1970s and then gained my PhD from the University of London (Wye College) in 1981, where I worked on agricultural restructuring and rural change. Before joining Kingston University in 1989, I worked in the ESRC Data Archive at the University of Essex, where I was involved with a number of data dissemination and analysis projects, including acting as the national Census Officer. it was here that I developed my interest in Geographical Information Systems and Science and its application.
My research reflects a longstanding focus on quantitative analysis of geospatial data in relation to geodemographics, population ageing, spatial planning, agriculture, and environmental monitoring. The organisations funding my research include the ESRC, Scottish Executive, and Nuffield Foundation. In 2012, the British Academy awarded me a Senior Research Fellowship.
Qualifications
- 1974-77: BA (Hons) in Geography, University of Sussex
- 1977-81: PhD in Wye College, University of London
- 2003: Chartered Geographer, Royal Geographical Society (with Institute of British Geographers)
Domains
Three threads have continued throughout my research career, surviving evolution and change in the specific projects I have actively engaged in. These threads relate to differentiation between rural and urban environments, population dynamics and migration and interaction between human and physical processes.
Current projects concern;
- connecting the micro-scale demography of areas of London and Middlesex over a period of 100 years (1901-11 and 2001-11), for which I was awarded a British Academy Senior Research Fellowship
- investigating and modelling the impact of war-time emergency measures on the agriculture and landscape of the South Downs
- extending work on older people's adjustment to urban regeneration and renewal
I regularly present my research at international conferences and have well in excess of 120 research outputs (journal articles, chapters, books and international conference papers).
Publications
Celebrating census
(2022).
Internal Migration: Geographical Perspectives and Processes
(2015). Farnham, U.K.: (Ashgate)
Practical statistics for geographers and earth scientists
Walford, Nigel and Ivison, Claire (2011). Chichester, U.K.: (Wiley-Blackwell)
Garden developments: understanding the issues - an investigation into residential development on gardens in England
Sayce, Sarah, Garside, Peter, Harris, Charlotte, Vickers, Anthony, Villars, Nicola, Walford, Nigel and Clements, Billy (2010). London, U.K.: (Communities and Local Government)
Geographical data: characteristics and sources
Walford, Nigel (2002). Chichester, UK: (Wiley)
Impact of land requisition for military training during World War II on farming and the South Downs landscape, England
Walford, Nigel, 2024, Revue Internationale de Géomatique (33), 1, pp 445-464
Land use-land cover on the South Downs, England in the 1870s : a case study mapping and applying landscape metrics to the Ordnance Survey Parish Books of Reference
Walford, Nigel, 2023, The Geographical Journal
A stroll in the park, a view of water : quantifying older people’s interaction with ‘green’ and ‘blue’ spaces in urban areas
Negrini, Chiara and Walford, Nigel, 2022, Applied Geography (149), pp 102808
Celebrating census
Walford, Nigel, Carson, Dean and Donnelly, Francis, 2022, Journal of Maps
Predicting range shifts for critically endangered plants : is habitat connectivity irrelevant or necessary?
Yesuf, Gabriel U., Brown, Kerry A., Walford, Nigel S., Rakotoarisoa, Solofo E. and Rufino, Mariana C., 2021, Biological Conservation (256), pp 109033
Alcohol and personal security in the built environment : student engagement in the night-time economy of Kingston upon Thames, London, UK
Gant, Robert, Walford, Nigel and Terry, Philip, 2021, London Journal (46), 2, pp 187-213
Older people, town centres and the revival of the 'High Street'
Phillips, Judith, Walford, Nigel, Hockey, Ann and Sparks, Leigh, 2021, (22), 1, pp 11-26
Demographic and social context of deaths during the 1854 cholera outbreak in Soho, London : a reappraisal of Dr John Snow's investigation
Walford, Nigel Stephen, 2020, (65), pp 102402
Residential neighbourhood classification : an environmentally enhanced approach
Walford, Nigel and Armitage, Richard, 2020, Applied Geography (121), pp 102219
Assessing regional-scale variability in deforestation and forest degradation rates in a tropical biodiversity hotspot
Yesuf, Gabriel, Brown, Kerry A. and Walford, Nigel, 2019, Remote Sensing in Ecology and Conservation (5), 4, pp 346-359
Using 3D modelling and game engine technologies for interactive exploration of cultural heritage : an evaluation of four game engines in relation to Roman archaeological heritage
Smith, Matthew, Walford, Nigel Stephen and Jimenez-Bescos, Carlos, 2019, Digital Applications in Archaeology and Cultural Heritage (14), pp e00113
Bringing historical British Population Census records into the 21st century : a method for geocoding households and individuals at their early-20th-century addresses
Walford, Nigel Stephen, 2019, Population, Space and Place (25), 4, pp e2227
Assessing the user response to differences in functionality when visualising 3D models of cultural heritage sites using the Technology Readiness Index
Smith, Matthew, Walford, Nigel Stephen and Jimenez-Bescos, Carlos, 2018, Digital Applications in Archaeology and Cultural Heritage (10), pp e00076
Assessing the needs of older people in urban settings : integration of emotive, physiological and built environment data
Walford, Nigel S., Phillips, Judith, Hockey, A. and Pratt, Susan, 2017, Geo : Geography and Environment (4), 1, pp e00037
The changing nature of GIS and the provision of formal GIS education in the UK : a case study
Walford, Nigel, 2017, Journal of Geography in Higher Education (41), 3, pp 310-326
Outworking of the Second Demographic Transition: national trends and regional patterns of fertility change in Poland, and England and Wales, 2002-12
Walford, Nigel and Kurek, Slawomir, 2016, Population, Space and Place (22), 6, pp 508-525
A proposed methodology for the correction of the Leaf Area Index measured with a ceptometer for pinus and eucalyptus forests = Proposta de uma methodologia para a correcao do indice de area foliar medido pelo ceptometro em provoamentos de pinus e eucalyptus
Lopes, Domingos Mendes, Walford, Nigel, Viana, Helda and Sette Jnr, Carlos Roberto, 2016, Revista Arvore (40), 5, pp 845-854
A simplified methodology for the correction of Leaf Area Index (LAI) measurements obtained by ceptometer with reference Pinus Portuguese forests
Lopes, Domingos, Nunes, Leonia, Walford, Nigel S, Aranha, Jose, Sette, Carlos Jr, Vianna, Helder and Hernandez, Carmen, 2014, IForest – Biogeosciences and Forestry (7), pp 186-192
The extent and impact of the 1940 and 1941 'plough-up' campaigns on farming across the South Downs, England
Walford, Nigel, 2013, Journal of Rural Studies (32), pp 38-49
Development and design of a web-based interface to address geographical incompatibility in spatial units
Walford, Nigel, 2013, Environment and Planning A (45), 7, pp 1713-1733
Planning for an ageing society: voices from the planning profession
Hockey, Ann, Phillips, Judith and Walford, Nigel, 2013, Planning Practice and Research (28), 5, pp 527-543
Older people and outdoor environments: Pedestrian anxieties and barriers in the use of familiar and unfamiliar spaces
Phillips, Judith, Walford, Nigel, Hockey, Ann, Foreman, Nigel and Lewis, Michael, 2013, Geoforum (47), pp 113-124
Automated geoprocessing mechanism, processes and workflow for seamless online integration of geodata services and creating geoprocessing services
Shi, Shaozhong and Walford, Nigel, 2012, IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing (5), 6, pp 1659-1664
Residential development on gardens in England: their role in providing sustainable housing supply
Sayce, Sarah, Walford, Nigel and Garside, Peter, 2012, Land Use Policy (29), 4, pp 771-780
Cautionary notes on linking the National Farm Survey with other records for investigating the agrarian history of Second World War Britain
Taylor, Katherine J., Walford, Nigel, Short, Brian and Armitage, Richard, 2012, Agricultural History Review (60), 1, pp 77-96
Thirty years of geographical (in)consistency in the British Population Census: steps towards the harmonisation of small-area census statistical geography
Walford, Nigel S. and Hayles, Kelly N., 2012, Population, Space and Place (18), 3, pp 295-313
How do unfamiliar environments convey meaning to older people? Urban dimensions of placelessness and attachment
Phillips, Judith, Walford, Nigel and Hockey, Ann, 2011, International Journal of Ageing and Later Life (6), 2, pp 73-102
Older people's navigation of urban areas as pedestrians: measuring quality of the built environment using oral narratives and virtual routes
Walford, Nigel, Samarasundera, Edgar, Phillips, Judith, Hockey, Ann and Foreman, Nigel, 2011, Landscape and Urban Planning (100), 1-2, pp 163-168
An automated internet geoinformation service for integrating online geoinformation services and generating quasi-realistic spatial population GIS maps
Shi, S. and Walford, N., 2010, International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences (38), 2, pp 427-432
Assessing the land use of inter-war Britain: A comparison of the First Land Utilisation Survey field sheets and 1:63,360 scale maps
Taylor, Katherine J, Walford, Nigel and Short, Brian, 2010, Applied Geography (30), 1, pp 50-62
Accuracy of remote sensing data versus other sources of information for estimating net primary production in Eucalyptus globulus Labill. and Pinus pinaster Ait. ecosystems in Portugal
Lopes, DM, Aranha, JT, Walford, N, O'Brien, J and Lucas, N, 2009, Canadian Journal of Remote Sensing (35), 1, pp 37-53
A comparative analysis of population ageing in urban and rural areas of England and Wales, and Poland over the last three census intervals
Walford, N. S. and Kurek, S., 2008, Population, Space and Place (14), 5, pp 365-386
Book Review of: The experience of return migration: Caribbean perspectives
Walford, N, 2007, Geography (92), pp 77-77
Book Review of: Multifunctional agriculture a new paradigm for European agriculture and rural development by G. Huylenbroeck and G. van Durand
Walford, Nigel, 2005, Land Use Policy (22), 4, pp 387-387
Book Review of: Contemporary Portugal: Dimensions of economic and political change
Walford, N, 2004, Geography (89), pp 191-191
Productivism is allegedly dead, long live productivism. Evidence of continued productivist attitudes and decision-making in South-East England
Walford, Nigel, 2003, Journal of Rural Studies (19), 4, pp 491-502
Book Review of: Statistical methods for geography
Walford, Nigel, 2002, Geography (87), pp 374-374
Agricultural adjustment: adoption of and adaptation to policy reform measures by large-scale commercial farmers
Walford, Nigel, 2002, Land Use Policy (19), 3, pp 243-257
Reconstructing the small area geography of Mid-Wales for an analysis of population change 1961-95
Walford, Nigel, 2001, International Journal of Population Geography (7), 5, pp 311-338
Book Review of: Agricultural policy in the European Union
Walford, N, 2001, European Urban and Regional Studies (8), 2, pp 179-180
Book Review of: Social investment and economic growth: a strategy to eradicate poverty by Patrick Watt
Walford, Nigel, 2001, Geography (86), 1, pp 93-93
Book Review of: The doubly green revolution by Gordon Conway
Walford, Nigel, 1999, Geography (84), 363, pp 187-187
'Making more of maps': geography and geographical information systems
Walford, Nigel, 1999, Geography (84), 363, pp 129-138
Telecommunications and disabled people: a rural perspective
Gant, Robert and Walford, Nigel, 1998, (4), 3, pp 245-263
Book Review of: Agricultural restructuring and sustainability: a geographical perspective by Brian Ilbery, Quentin Chiotti and Timothy Richard (eds.)
Walford, Nigel, 1998, Geography (83), 360, pp 296-296
Book Review of: The third revolution in the Chinese countryside - Garnaut,R, Shutian,G, Guonan,M
Walford, N, 1997, Geography (82), 355, pp 191-192
Book Review of: Elementary statistics for Geographers- Barber, G M
WALFORD, N, 1990, Area (22), 3, pp 311-311
Negotiating unfamiliar environments
Phillips, Judith, Walford, Nigel, Hockey, Ann, Lewis, Mike and Foreman, Nigel (2018). In: Walker, Alan, (ed.), The new dynamics of ageing. Volume 2. Bristol, U.K: Policy Press, pp 35-50
Using GIS to transition from contemporary to historical geographical research : exploring rural land use change in southern England in the twentieth century
Walford, Nigel (2018). In: Gregory, Ian, (eds.), DeBats, Don, (eds.) and Lafreniere, Don, (eds.), The Routledge companion to Spatial History. Abingdon, U.K.: Routledge, pp 394-413
Using contemporary and historical Census data to explore micro-scale population change in parts of London
Walford, Nigel (2018). In: Stillwell, John, (ed.), The Routledge handbook of census resources, methods and applications: unlocking the UK 2011 census. Abingdon, U.K.: Routledge, pp 435-450
Using geographical information systems (GIS)
Walford, Nigel (2016). In: Clifford, Nicholas, (eds.), Cope, Meghan, (eds.), Gillespie, Thomas, (eds.) and French, Shaun, (eds.), Key Methods in Geography. London, U.K.: Sage, pp 665-683
Lifestyle and Internal Migration
Walford, Nigel and Stockdale, Aileen (2015). In: Smith, Darren P., (eds.), Finney, Nissa, (eds.), Halfacree, Keith, (eds.) and Walford, Nigel, (eds.), Internal Migration: Geographical Perspectives and Processes. Farnham, U.K.: Ashgate, pp 99-111
Participation and Social Connectivity
Vera-Sanso, P, Barrientos, A, Damodaran, L, Gilhooly, K, Goulding, A, Hennessey, C, Murray, M, Newman, A, Olphert, W, Tew, P, Thompson, J L, Victor, C and Walford, N (2014). In: Walker, A, (ed.), The New Science of Ageing. Bristol, UK: Policy Press
Connecting the origins and destinations of migrants to Mid-Wales in recent decades
Walford, Nigel S. (2008). In: Diry, Jean-Paul, (ed.), Les Etrangers dans les Campagnes. Clermont-Ferand: Presse Universitaires Blaise Pascal, pp 219-232
National Land Use Database (NLUD): NLUD scoping study final report
Sayce, Sarah, Walford, Nigel, Garside, Peter, Livingstone, David, Vickers, Tony and Jones, Alun (2008). London, U.K.: (English Partnerships)
Bringing the environment and green spaces into the classification of urban residential neighbourhoods and communities
Walford, Nigel and Armitage, Richard(2018). In: RGS-IBG Annual International Conference 2018, 28 - 31 Aug 2018 :Cardiff, Wales
Exploring the use of an environmentally enhanced neighbourhood classification for characterising gentrification in urban landscape : a case study of Salford and Colchester
Walford, Nigel and Armitage, Richard(2018). In: RGS-IBG Annual International Conference 2018, 28 - 31 Aug 2018 :Cardiff, Wales
Steps towards a ‘demographic-environmental-socio-economic’ classification of residential neighbourhoods
Walford, Nigel and Armitage, Richard(2016). In: Royal Geographical Society (RGS) with the Institute of British Geographers (IBG) Annual International Conference: Nexus Thinking, 30 Aug - 02 Sep 2016 :London, U.K.
Changing household composition and structure in selected local authorities of London and Middlesex during the first decade of the 20th century
Walford, Nigel(2016). In: European Social Science History Conference, 30 Mar - 02 Apr 2016 :University of Valencia, Spain
A graduate from a Geography degree in the mid-1970s asks ‘what is GIS?’: coming to GIS by a circuitous route
Walford, Nigel(2016). In: Royal Geographical Society (RGS) with the Institute of British Geographers (IBG) Annual International Conference: Nexus Thinking, 30 Aug - 02 Sep 2016 :London, U.K.
Reconstructing the agricultural landscape of the South Downs, England : an examination of the 1940 and 1941 World War II plough-up campaigns
Walford, Nigel(2015). In: GIS Research UK 2015 (GISRUK 2015), 15-17 Apr 2015 :Leeds, U.K.
Targeting residential development on previously developed land: an unrealistic proposition for rural local planning authorities?
Walford, Nigel(2010). In: Diversity and convergence: planning in a world of change : The UK-Ireland Planning Research Conference 2010, 07 - 09 Apr 2010 :Chelmsford, U.K.
Diversification on large-scale, commercial farms in South East England
Walford, Nigel(2002). In: 4e colloque franco-britannique de Geographie rurale, 14 - 17 May 2002 :Worcester, U.K.