Born in Scotland, I was educated at Alloa Academy, University of Aberdeen (MA), and the University of Bristol (PhD and postdoctoral research). I taught at the University of Reading, Syracuse University and University of Maryland at Baltimore County (UMBC) where I am now emeritus professor. My research interests include cities, environmental issues, history of cartography and geopolitics. I publish in a range of journals and am the author of 60 books. My work is translated into Arabic, Chinese, Czech, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Persian, Portuguese, Romanian, Spanish, Turkish and Vietnamese. My essays appear in Associated Press, Business Insider, City Metric, Conversation, Fortune, La Repubblica, Market Watch, Newsweek, PBS Newshour, Quartz, Salon, Slate, Time, US News and World Report, Washington Post and World Economic Forum.

I am a featured speaker to academic, business, government and general public audiences. I live in Washington DC.