Callum’s research sits at the intersection of economic geography, political economy, and urban studies, with a particular focus on the financialisation of land and infrastructure, urban governance, and housing. He is especially interested in how financial logics reshape urban spaces, the political economy of land value capture, and the broader governance implications of real estate markets. Callum’s work seeks to critically engage with financial structures that underpin urban transformations, tracing the flows of capital and their impact on the built environment through processes of 'assetisation' and the rent extraction this enables. As such, his research agenda strongly complements the themes of the Urban Institute, particularly the developing the UI’s 'Urban Riches' thematic focus on investment dynamics and wealth inequalities in processes of urbanisation.
Callum is also a member of the accounting group at Sheffield University Management School (SUMS) to advance this interdisciplinary agenda focused on calculative practices, assetisation, and 'follow the money' corporate research methodologies. Callum will use his status as a UI Associate to further develop these collaborations, specifically a cluster around the theme of 'valuation, space, power' which overlaps closely and builds on the Urban Riches theme.