Nicholas K. Blomley FRSC (born 1962) is a British-Canadian legal geographer. He is a Professor and former Chair of Geography at Simon Fraser University.

Nicholas Blomley
Blomley in 2017
Born1962 (1962)
Reading, Berkshire, United Kingdom
Academic background
EducationPhD, Geography, University of Bristol
ThesisRetail law at the urban and national levels: Geographical aspects of the operation and possible amendment of the Shops Act (1950). (1986)
Academic work
DisciplineGeography
Sub-disciplinelegal geography
InstitutionsUniversity of California, Los Angeles
Boston University
Simon Fraser University

Career

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In 1989, Blomley joined the faculty of Geography at Simon Fraser University (SFU) as a temporary replacement for a professor. He ended up impressing the department and was hired full-time.[1] In 1994, Blomley published "Law, Space, and the Geographies of Power" through the Guilford Press. This book examined the geographies of law through critical theory.[2] In 1997, Blomley began to develop a computerized geographical information system with data on Vancouver's downtown eastside land market as a way to combat gentrification.[3] The next year, he petitioned then University president Jack Blaney to review the university's decision regarding support for criminology graduate student Russel Ogden, apologize, and pay him full compensation for his court appearances.[4] In 2001, he co-edited "The Legal Geographies Reader" alongside Richard Thompson Ford and David Delaney.[5] The next year he sat on the Graduate Urban Studies Steering Committee, which introduced SFU's inaugural graduate diploma in urban studies.[6]

Between May 2003 to May 2007, Blomley helped referee manuscripts for the Southeastern Geographer journal.[7] In 2004, Blomley published "Unsettling the City" through Routledge. The book focused on how problems facing gentrification and Indigenous land claims are generated through modern concepts of property and ownership.[8] In 2010, he published " Rights of Passage: Sidewalks and the Regulation of Public Flow."[9] The book would go on to win the Hart Socio-Legal Studies Association book prize.[10] During the 2011–12 academic year, Blomley sat on the Graduate Student Activity Committee of the Law and Society Association.[11] He was also promoted to Chair of the geography department.[12]

 
Blomley and Brian Owen in 2014

The next year, Blomley sat on the Editorial Advisory Board for the Territory, Politics, Governance Journal.[13] In 2017, Blomley was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada for his research in legal geography.[14]

In 2018, Blomley, Natalia Perez, and Andy Yan began a pilot study on evictions in the private rental housing market in Metro Vancouver. The study found that Maple Ridge had the highest number of tenant disputes that more than doubled the Metro average.[15] As well, his paper " Land use, planning, and the "difficult character of property" was shortlisted for the AESOP Best Published Paper Award 2018.[16] The next year, he sat on the Graduate Studies Committee[17] and on the Executive Board of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council funded research project "Landscapes of Injustice"[18] He was also selected to sit on the Application and Nomination Review Committee for the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation.[19] and awarded a grant for two research projects.[20]

References

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  1. ^ Hayter, Roger (1990). "Geography at Simon Fraser University". Yearbook of the Association of Pacific Coast Geographers. 52: 201. doi:10.1353/pcg.1990.0017. JSTOR 24040181. S2CID 128669994.
  2. ^ Stychin, Carl F. (September 1, 1996). "Book Reviews: NICHOLAS K. BLOMLEY, Law, Space, and the Geographies of Power". Social & Legal Studies. 5 (3): 445–447. doi:10.1177/096466399600500314. S2CID 143108630.
  3. ^ Fluxgold, Howard (October 30, 1997). "Geographer studies both sides of eastside gentrification debate". sfu.ca. Retrieved October 16, 2019.
  4. ^ "Ogden to receive apology, compensation from SFU for legal expenses and lost wages". sfu.ca. October 22, 1998. Retrieved October 16, 2019.
  5. ^ "NICHOLAS BLOMLEY". unequalcities.org. Retrieved October 16, 2019.
  6. ^ Hearn, Christine (January 24, 2002). "First urban studies diploma launched". sfu.ca. Retrieved October 16, 2019.
  7. ^ Derek H. Alderman; Scott A. Lecce (November 2007). "Farewell and Thanks". Southeastern Geographer. 47 (2). The University of North Carolina Press: 381–382. doi:10.1353/sgo.2007.0017. S2CID 129487961.
  8. ^ Meadahl, Marianne (March 4, 2004). "Book focuses on property". sfu.ca. Retrieved October 16, 2019.
  9. ^ Binken, Saskia (May 2, 2012). "Rights of Passage: Sidewalks and the Regulation of Public Flow – By Nicholas Blomley". 36 (3). doi:10.1111/j.1468-2427.2012.01130.x. hdl:10.1111/j.1468-2427.2012.01130.x. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  10. ^ "SPRING 2012 NEWSLETTER" (PDF). geog.uvic.ca. p. 5. Retrieved October 16, 2019.
  11. ^ "LAW AND SOCIETY ASSOCIATION COMMITTEES 2011-2012" (PDF). lawandsociety.org. Retrieved October 16, 2019.
  12. ^ Ball, David P. (November 16, 2011). "Occupy Vancouver: Geography of a "modern agora"". Vancouver Observer. Retrieved October 16, 2019.
  13. ^ "Editorial Board Page". Territory, Politics, Governance. 1 (2): ebi. November 5, 2013. doi:10.1080/21622671.2013.859440. S2CID 219554983.
  14. ^ "Faculty duo named Royal Society of Canada Fellows". sfu.ca. September 7, 2017. Retrieved October 16, 2019.
  15. ^ Corbett, Neil (February 28, 2018). "More evictions in Maple Ridge". Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows News. Retrieved October 16, 2019.
  16. ^ "AESOP Best Published Paper Award 2018". aesop-planning.eu. July 19, 2018. Retrieved October 16, 2019.
  17. ^ "Departmental Committees 2018-19". sfu.ca. Archived from the original on March 29, 2019. Retrieved October 16, 2019.
  18. ^ "Nicholas Blomley". landscapesofinjustice.com. Retrieved October 16, 2019.
  19. ^ "NICK BLOMLEY". trudeaufoundation.ca. 2019-03-07. Retrieved October 16, 2019.
  20. ^ "Celebrating 10 years". sfu.ca. Archived from the original on April 15, 2019. Retrieved October 16, 2019.
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