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<td style="vertical-align: top;" valign="top">Des McCafferty is Professor and Head of the Department of Geography in Mary Immaculate College, University of Limerick. His research interests are wide ranging, and include the structure and development of the Irish urban hierarchy and its role in territorial development; spatial planning; and area-based measures to combat deprivation in both urban and rural settings. He has participated in Irish and European research programmes across these areas, including research funded by the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions, and by the European Spatial Planning Observatory Network (ESPON). He is a past president of the Geographical Society of Ireland, and chairman of the Irish Branch of the Regional Studies Association. He has also served on Strategic Policy Committees, for Social Policy and Housing, and for Transportation and Infrastructure, of the former Limerick City Council.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

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<strong>Research interests:</strong> Urbanisation in Ireland, structure and development of the Irish urban hierarchy, and its role in regional development; spatial planning; urban socio-spatial variation, with particular focus on housing, segregation and social deprivation.

<strong>Contact:</strong> Des.McCafferty@mic.ul.ie

<strong>Institutional Profile:</strong> https://www.mic.ul.ie/staff/360-des-mccafferty

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Cormac_Walsh</td>
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