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Dr Edward Shepherd
Teams and roles for Edward Shepherd
Senior Lecturer
Overview
My research examines the ideological dimensions of land and land markets, focusing on the political and economic geographies of land use and development. While land is resolutely material, its meanings are socially constructed. Dominant meanings have profound implications for human and other-than-human life. Critiquing these meanings and the power relations that shape them is a moral imperative in the context of multiple land-related crises, including biodiversity and housing.
My professional background is in planning and development consultancy, during which I advised on planning applications, development briefs and affordable housing viability for public and private sector clients. During this experience, I became acutely aware of how my professional practice was shaped by the broader political environment. This has led to my academic research being informed by how political ideas and politics shape policy, governance and practice regarding development land markets and urban planning. I therefore combine practical understanding of the politics and intricate policies shaping the urban development process, with a broad understanding of the bigger picture.
I have conducted research on housing supply, land markets, land value capture, the politics of planning reform, planning risk and land promotion. My research has attracted funding of over £300,000 from various sources, including the ESRC and the Scottish Land Commission. Through this research experience, I have developed deep understanding of the opportunities and constraints that exist for policy adjustment in relation to the regulation of land and housing development markets. My research therefore consistently engages with policy implications.
My interdisciplinary experience spans academic research, professional practice, and policy engagement, enabling me to bridge different perspectives and contribute effectively to evidence-led policy development. I am a Member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and the Royal Town Planning Institute. I am a Fellow of AdvanceHE (formerly the Higher Education Academy). You can access a list of my publications via the 'Publications' tab.
Examples of recent achievements include:
- My research on 'Ideology, housing and land value capture: uncovering the politics of development land value' is currently being supported by a prestigious ESRC New Investigator Grant.
- My research with Dr Chris Foye on the profitability of volume housebuilders and what this means for housing supply won the Royal Town Planning Institute Award for Research Excellence 2024.
- I was invited to provide written and verbal evidence for the Senedd Cymru Local Government and Housing Committee Inquiry into Social Housing Supply 2024, which was cited four times in the committee report.
- I was invited to provide evidence to the House of Commons Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee 2025 inquiry into land value capture.
- I was invited to provide evidence to the House of Lords Built Environment Committee 2025 inquiry into New Towns.
- I have secured ESRC impact funding aimed at building a community of land value capture experts in Wales, as well as a network of experts and practitioners specialising in Biodiversity Net Gain and nature recovery via the planning system.
Publication
2025
- Lord, A., Shepherd, E. and White, T. 2025. Language Value Capture? Redefining terms for the debate on land's public value. Planning Theory and Practice (10.1080/14649357.2025.2474351)
- Shepherd, E. 2025. Public policy and contested political concepts: The ideological morphology of land value capture. Journal of Political Ideologies (10.1080/13569317.2025.2464674)
2024
- Foye, C. and Shepherd, E. 2024. Housebuilding, land and structural power: the case of mortgage market support schemes in England. Business and Politics (10.1017/bap.2024.19)
- Shepherd, E., McAllister, P. and Wyatt, P. 2024. State regulation of land financialisation: Land promoters, planning risk and the land market in England. Housing Studies 39(8), pp. 1903-1929. (10.1080/02673037.2022.2149705)
- Shepherd, E. and Wargent, M. 2024. Embedding the land market: Polanyi, urban planning, and regulation. Environment and Planning A 56(3), pp. 905-926. (10.1177/0308518X231203484)
- Shepherd, E. 2024. Housing development, land values and the decentred state: Traditions and dilemmas in House of Commons planning debates. The Journal of Legislative Studies 30(2), pp. 227-252. (10.1080/13572334.2023.2298127)
2023
- Foye, C. and Shepherd, E. 2023. Why have the volume housebuilders been so profitable? The power of volume housebuilders and what this tells us about housing supply, the land market and the state.. Project Report. [Online]. UK Collaborative Centre for Housing Evidence. Available at: https://housingevidence.ac.uk/publications/why-have-the-volume-housebuilders-been-so-profitable/
- McAllister, P., Shepherd, E. and Wyatt, P. 2023. An exploration of the role and significance of specialist land promoters in the housing land development market in the UK. Journal of Property Research 40(2), pp. 134-156. (10.1080/09599916.2022.2114927)
- Shepherd, E. 2023. Capturing value: the return of the land question in planning. Town and Country Planning Association Journal 92(2)
- Shepherd, E., Inch, A., Sturzker, J. and Marshall, T. 2023. Ideology, statecraft and the ‘double shuffle’ of Conservative planning reform in England.. Town Planning Review 95(2), pp. 151-174. (10.3828/tpr.2023.36)
2022
- Ball, M., Shepherd, E. and Wyatt, P. 2022. The relationship between residential development land prices and house prices. Town Planning Review 93(4), pp. 401-421. (10.3828/tpr.2021.27)
2021
- Shepherd, E. 2021. Ideology and institutional change: The case of the English National Planning Policy Framework. Planning Theory and Practice 22(4), pp. 519–536. (10.1080/14649357.2021.1942528)
2020
- Parker, G. et al. 2020. The future of the planning profession. Planning Theory and Practice 21(3), pp. 453-480. (10.1080/14649357.2020.1776014)
- Hughes, C., Sayce, S., Shepherd, E. and Wyatt, P. 2020. Implementing a land value tax: Considerations on moving from theory to practice. Land Use Policy 94, article number: 104494. (10.1016/j.landusepol.2020.104494)
- Shepherd, E., Inch, A. and Marshall, T. 2020. Narratives of power: Bringing ideology to the fore of planning analysis. Planning Theory 19(1), pp. 3-16. (10.1177/1473095219898865)
- Inch, A. and Shepherd, E. 2020. Thinking conjuncturally about ideology, housing and English planning. Planning Theory 19(1), pp. 59-79. (10.1177/1473095219887771)
- Shepherd, E. 2020. Liberty, property and the state: The ideology of the institution of English town and country planning. Progress in Planning 135, article number: 100425. (10.1016/j.progress.2018.09.001)
2018
- McAllister, P., Shepherd, E. and Wyatt, P. 2018. Policy shifts, developer contributions and land value capture in London 2005–2017. Land Use Policy 78, pp. 316-326. (10.1016/j.landusepol.2018.06.047)
- Shepherd, E. 2018. Continuity and change in the institution of town and country planning: Modelling the role of ideology. Planning Theory 17(4), pp. 494-513. (10.1177/1473095217737587)
- Lees, E. and Shepherd, E. 2018. Morphological analysis of legal ideology: locating interpretive divergence. Journal of Property, Planning and Environmental Law 10(1), pp. 5-16. (10.1108/jppel-12-2017-0041)
- Hughes, C., McCluskey, W., Sayce, S., Shepherd, E. and Wyatt, P. 2018. Investigation of potential land value tax policy options for Scotland: Final report. Project Report. [Online]. Scottish Land Commission. Available at: https://www.landcommission.gov.scot/downloads/5dd6984da0491_Land-Value-Tax-Policy-Options-for-Scotland-Final-Report-23-7-18.pdf
2016
- Allmendinger, P., Haughton, G. and Shepherd, E. 2016. Where is planning to be found? Material practices and the multiple spaces of planning. Environment and Planning C: Government and Policy 34(1), pp. 38-51. (10.1177/0263774x15614178)
2015
- Lees, E. and Shepherd, E. 2015. Incoherence and incompatibility in planning law. International Journal of Law in the Built Environment 7(2), pp. 111-126. (10.1108/ijlbe-07-2014-0019)
Articles
- Lord, A., Shepherd, E. and White, T. 2025. Language Value Capture? Redefining terms for the debate on land's public value. Planning Theory and Practice (10.1080/14649357.2025.2474351)
- Shepherd, E. 2025. Public policy and contested political concepts: The ideological morphology of land value capture. Journal of Political Ideologies (10.1080/13569317.2025.2464674)
- Foye, C. and Shepherd, E. 2024. Housebuilding, land and structural power: the case of mortgage market support schemes in England. Business and Politics (10.1017/bap.2024.19)
- Shepherd, E., McAllister, P. and Wyatt, P. 2024. State regulation of land financialisation: Land promoters, planning risk and the land market in England. Housing Studies 39(8), pp. 1903-1929. (10.1080/02673037.2022.2149705)
- Shepherd, E. and Wargent, M. 2024. Embedding the land market: Polanyi, urban planning, and regulation. Environment and Planning A 56(3), pp. 905-926. (10.1177/0308518X231203484)
- Shepherd, E. 2024. Housing development, land values and the decentred state: Traditions and dilemmas in House of Commons planning debates. The Journal of Legislative Studies 30(2), pp. 227-252. (10.1080/13572334.2023.2298127)
- McAllister, P., Shepherd, E. and Wyatt, P. 2023. An exploration of the role and significance of specialist land promoters in the housing land development market in the UK. Journal of Property Research 40(2), pp. 134-156. (10.1080/09599916.2022.2114927)
- Shepherd, E. 2023. Capturing value: the return of the land question in planning. Town and Country Planning Association Journal 92(2)
- Shepherd, E., Inch, A., Sturzker, J. and Marshall, T. 2023. Ideology, statecraft and the ‘double shuffle’ of Conservative planning reform in England.. Town Planning Review 95(2), pp. 151-174. (10.3828/tpr.2023.36)
- Ball, M., Shepherd, E. and Wyatt, P. 2022. The relationship between residential development land prices and house prices. Town Planning Review 93(4), pp. 401-421. (10.3828/tpr.2021.27)
- Shepherd, E. 2021. Ideology and institutional change: The case of the English National Planning Policy Framework. Planning Theory and Practice 22(4), pp. 519–536. (10.1080/14649357.2021.1942528)
- Parker, G. et al. 2020. The future of the planning profession. Planning Theory and Practice 21(3), pp. 453-480. (10.1080/14649357.2020.1776014)
- Hughes, C., Sayce, S., Shepherd, E. and Wyatt, P. 2020. Implementing a land value tax: Considerations on moving from theory to practice. Land Use Policy 94, article number: 104494. (10.1016/j.landusepol.2020.104494)
- Shepherd, E., Inch, A. and Marshall, T. 2020. Narratives of power: Bringing ideology to the fore of planning analysis. Planning Theory 19(1), pp. 3-16. (10.1177/1473095219898865)
- Inch, A. and Shepherd, E. 2020. Thinking conjuncturally about ideology, housing and English planning. Planning Theory 19(1), pp. 59-79. (10.1177/1473095219887771)
- Shepherd, E. 2020. Liberty, property and the state: The ideology of the institution of English town and country planning. Progress in Planning 135, article number: 100425. (10.1016/j.progress.2018.09.001)
- McAllister, P., Shepherd, E. and Wyatt, P. 2018. Policy shifts, developer contributions and land value capture in London 2005–2017. Land Use Policy 78, pp. 316-326. (10.1016/j.landusepol.2018.06.047)
- Shepherd, E. 2018. Continuity and change in the institution of town and country planning: Modelling the role of ideology. Planning Theory 17(4), pp. 494-513. (10.1177/1473095217737587)
- Lees, E. and Shepherd, E. 2018. Morphological analysis of legal ideology: locating interpretive divergence. Journal of Property, Planning and Environmental Law 10(1), pp. 5-16. (10.1108/jppel-12-2017-0041)
- Allmendinger, P., Haughton, G. and Shepherd, E. 2016. Where is planning to be found? Material practices and the multiple spaces of planning. Environment and Planning C: Government and Policy 34(1), pp. 38-51. (10.1177/0263774x15614178)
- Lees, E. and Shepherd, E. 2015. Incoherence and incompatibility in planning law. International Journal of Law in the Built Environment 7(2), pp. 111-126. (10.1108/ijlbe-07-2014-0019)
Monographs
- Foye, C. and Shepherd, E. 2023. Why have the volume housebuilders been so profitable? The power of volume housebuilders and what this tells us about housing supply, the land market and the state.. Project Report. [Online]. UK Collaborative Centre for Housing Evidence. Available at: https://housingevidence.ac.uk/publications/why-have-the-volume-housebuilders-been-so-profitable/
- Hughes, C., McCluskey, W., Sayce, S., Shepherd, E. and Wyatt, P. 2018. Investigation of potential land value tax policy options for Scotland: Final report. Project Report. [Online]. Scottish Land Commission. Available at: https://www.landcommission.gov.scot/downloads/5dd6984da0491_Land-Value-Tax-Policy-Options-for-Scotland-Final-Report-23-7-18.pdf
Teaching
I teach across a range of planning and development focused modules. Current modules include:
- CP0120 Society, Diversity and Planning
- CPT857 Planning and Real Estate
- CP0250 Site Planning and Development Valuation
I particularly enjoy teaching material on development viability in theory and practice. This mechanism is fundamentally important to the delivery of development projects and, crucially, the division of development value between landowners, developers and the provision of public goods.
In addition to my teaching responsibilities, I am the Student Voice coordinator for the School. This is a great opportunity to work directly with students to ensure that their perspectives are heard and taken into account via the continual improvement of our programmes and the student experience.
Supervisions
I am currently supervising PhD projects on:
- Small property rights housing in China
- Net benefit for biodiversity policy in Wales.
- International real estate development in Ghana.
Do get in touch if you are interested in doing a PhD broadly in one or more of the following areas:
- The political economy of land markets
- Biodiversity enhancement policy
- Politics and urban governance
- Planning reform
- International comparisons of planning and land market systems
- Political economy and the development process
- Housing development
Even if your research idea doesn't neatly fit into one of the above categories, but you still think I might be interested, then do not hesitate to get in touch. I'm always happy to have a chat.
Current supervision
Contact Details
+44 29208 76412
Glamorgan Building, Room S/2.85, King Edward VII Avenue, Cardiff, CF10 3WA
