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Rob Kitchin MRIA

Citation on the awarding of the 2013 RIA Gold Medal in the Social Sciences to Rob Kitchin MRIA

Written on 20 February 2014

Professor Rob Kitchin is Professor of Geography at the National University of Ireland Maynooth, His most important theoretical contributions to date have been a rethinking of the meta-concepts of space and mapping, and the development of the concepts of ‘code/space’ and ‘automated management’ which have been influential across the social sciences, especially with respect to understanding the relationship between technology, society and space

He was the Director of the National Institute of Regional and Spatial Analysis from 2002 to 2013 and his book Code/Space: Software and Everyday Life won numerous awards, including the Meridian Book Award for the outstanding book in the discipline in 2011 from the Association of American Geographers.

He has founded two successful, international journals: Social and Cultural Geography and Dialogues in Human Geography - and is an editor of Progress in Human Geography.

He served as co-editor-in-chief of the 12 volume International Encyclopedia of Human Geography, and is co-author of the first Oxford Dictionary of Human Geography. He sits on a number of national and international advisory boards.

In 2012 Professor Kitchin was awarded an ERC Advanced Grant for a project entitled “SOFTCITY”. The project focuses on understanding the development of smart cities and the consequences of software becoming essential to many city functions and systems.

In recent years he has become a commentator of choice with respect to planning, housing and population aspects of the crisis in Ireland, regularly being interviewed and cited in national and international media.

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