Philip Hubbard (born 1969,

Ashford, Kent Ashford is a town in the county of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Great Stour at the southern or Escarpment, scarp edge of the North Downs, about southeast of central London and northwest of Folkestone by road. In the ...

) is a British geographer. He is currently Professor of Urban Studies at King's College London, having previously served as the head of the School of Social Policy, Sociology, and Social Research, University of Kent. Hubbard has written widely cited work on

urban sociology Urban sociology is the sociological study of life and human interaction in metropolitan areas. It is a normative discipline of sociology seeking to study the structures, environmental processes, changes and problems of an urban area and by doing ...

urban geography Urban geography is the subdiscipline of geography that derives from a study of cities and urban processes. Urban geographers and urbanists examine various aspects of urban life and the built environment. Scholars, activists, and the public have ...

, and social geographies. Hubbard was previously editor of the journal ''Social & Cultural Geography'', and chair of the Social and Cultural Geography Research Group of the

Royal Geographical Society The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...

. Hubbard's work has principally focused on contested land uses in the city, and the resolution of social conflict via legal techniques of planning and licensing. This has combined Foucauldian theories of

governmentality Governmentality is a concept first developed by the French philosopher Michel Foucault in the later years of his life, roughly between 1977 and his death in 1984, particularly in his lectures at the Collège de France during this time. Governmenta ...

with insights derived from

psychoanalytical PsychoanalysisFrom Greek: + . is a set of theories and therapeutic techniques"What is psychoanalysis? Of course, one is supposed to answer that it is many things — a theory, a research method, a therapy, a body of knowledge. In what might be ...

and queer theory which focus on questions of disgust and exclusion. Hubbard has also written or co-edited a number of texts and collections on theory and philosophy in human geography. In 2017 he published a book on the retail gentrification of British cities, ''The Battle for The High Street'', and in 2018 issued the second edition of his text ''City''. Hubbard is well known as a leading figure in the study of

sexuality and space Sexuality and space is a field of study within human geography. The phrase encompasses all relationships and interactions between human sexuality, space and place, themes studied within cultural geography, i.e., environmental and architectural psyc ...

. His work has concentrated on issues around prostitution, and in particular the location, regulation, and impact of street prostitution and sexual entertainment venues in England, Wales, and Scotland. In 2015, Hubbard presented evidence to

Scottish Parliament The Scottish Parliament ( gd, Pàrlamaid na h-Alba ; sco, Scots Pairlament) is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. Located in the Holyrood area of the capital city, Edinburgh, it is frequently referred to by the metonym Holyro ...

, calling for a unified approach to the licensing and regulation of sexual entertainment venues.

References

English geographers English sociologists 1969 births Living people Academics of the University of Kent Academics of King's College London {{academic-bio-stub