Bio

From a background in pure and applied Evolutionary Biology (the University of York, University of East Anglia and Universidad Autónoma de Madrid), Dr Phil Mason moved into social science research at the University of Glasgow in 2004.

As a member of (the Department of) Urban Studies, he worked on the Scottish Health, Housing and Regeneration Project (SHARP) between 2004 and 2006, a longitudinal, quasi-experimental investigation of the health effects of urban regeneration and new social housing throughout Scotland.

From 2006 to mid-2017, he was the data manager and main statistician on the GoWell Research and Learning Programme, investigating housing- and neighbourhood-based urban regeneration in 15 of Glasgow's most deprived areas, and individual and neighbourhood-level characteristics on physical and mental health and wellbeing.

In May 2017, he joined UBDC to work on the Educational Disadvantage and Place project, which is investigating neighbourhood effects on Secondary, Further and Higher Education outcomes and trajectories into work in Glasgow and the seven surrounding Local Authority areas.

Research interests

Phil's research activities cohere around an interest in how neighbourhood characteristics (the built environment, deprivation, etc.) may affect people's lives and be responsible for inequalities in society.

In his current post in UBDC, he is examining this in relation to Secondary, Further and Higher Educational outcomes and trajectories into employment in Glasgow and nearby Local Authorities.

Previously, he has looked at aspects of physical and mental health and positive mental wellbeing, health behaviours (especially physical activity and neighbourhood walking), crime and antisocial behaviour, drivers of (un)employment, urban regeneration, neighbourhood change and residential relocation, typically in the context of the built environments of deprived neighbourhoods.