Speaker biography
Dr Michael Martin
Director of Urban Design, University of Sheffield
Michael is an expert on cities for children and play. He has undertaken research funded by charities, public bodies and local government including Capital of Children/LEGO Foundation and published his results in leading international journals including the Journal of Urban Design and Children’s Geographies.
His co-authored book ‘Applied Urban Design: A Contextually Responsive Approach’(Routledge, 2025) was a finalist in the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) Research Excellence Awards 2025.
Michael co-authored the University of Sheffield 2025 study on play inequalities in England and has led on the dissemination and impact work of this research (together with Dr Paul Brindley).
In partnership with Play England, Sheffields' play inequalities work has achieved notable outcomes including changes in national policy, influencing and shaping government funding, and establishing the strategic platform for play provision planning – Playces. Michael is Associate Editor of the international journal Urban Design and Planning and an elected panelist of the Design Yorkshire Design Review Panel.