John Martin

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Dr John Martin

  • Associate Director - Research Strategy and Operations (Research, Partnerships and Innovation), University of Plymouth
 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3363-8855

Accepting PhD Students

Overview

Profile summary

John’s research focuses on interdisciplinary approaches to landscape assessment and monitoring. He utilizes various mapping techniques, including ubiquitous technology tools, participatory walking workshops, and remote sensing methods. Recently, John has been involved in a large-scale (10 Million Euro), multipartner European project, RURITAGE, which aimed to explore how culture and natural heritage can drive rural regeneration. The project sought to translate lessons learned from protected landscapes worldwide into practical actions and policies.

At the national level, John has collaborated closely with Natural England on multiple projects related to understanding stakeholder values. He has also provided evidence to the UK Government’s House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee as part of an inquiry into environmental sustainability and housing growth. John’s research has been cited in UK Government reports, including the England Peat Strategy, referenced in the England Peat Action Plan, and studies on environmental monitoring in protected landscapes, cited in the Glover Review. Additionally, he has contributed as a reviewer for the Local Nature Recovery Strategies - POSTnote (parliament.uk) and the Habitat Restoration Target. 

At the local level, John serves as the Vice-Chair of the South Devon AONB Partnership Committee. His diverse involvement has provided him with valuable expertise in the field, reinforcing the importance of translating research and evidence into practical policy applications.

Qualifications

BSc(Hons) 
MSc(Distinction), University of Durham
PhD University of Durham 

Roles on external bodies

  • Contributor and external reviewer for Local nature recovery strategies - POST (parliament.uk)
  • Vice Chair of South Devon AONB Partnership Committee
  • Member of Tamar Valley AONB Partnership Committee
  • Member of Blackdown Hills Natural Futures Steering Group
  • Member of the International Conference on Computer and Computing Technologies in Agriculture Program Committee, Wuyishan City, China 18th - 20th August 2007. 
  • Technical Program Committee Member of International Conference on Environmental Engineering and Pollution Technology ICEEPT2015), Phuket Island, Thailand 01-03 October 2015.

Supervised research degrees

Research degrees awarded to supervised students

Current PhD Students

2019 - 2022 Zhang, L., Roots and Flowers: Rural and Urban Integration for mutual prosperity. Case study from Rural Reconstruction Movement in China

 

Completed Students
2025 Guy, A. "An investigation into the 'value' of waterways" Director of studies

2018 Ahmed Hamdullah Alboabidallah, A. "The use of remote sensing data to automate the design of land use (ground surface) and ecosystem services" Director of studies

2012 Davey, F. "A Critical Review of the Application of Geospatial Techniques to Landscape Character Assessment in the Tamar Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty" HEIF 3 Studentship, Director of studies 

2011 Bello-Dambatta, A. "Development of a Decision Support System for Sustainable Management of Contaminated Land" GWR Studentship, Second supervisor 
 

Teaching interests

Taught Modules

  • ENV5208 Environmental Impact Assessment
  • ENV5209 Work Placement 
  • SCI5301 Masters Research Project
  • Module leader for:
    ENV 5111 Professional Practice for Environmental Consultants

Additional information

 
Grants & contracts

2020 - 2021 - Cultural Ecosystem Services and Big Data analysis: How does this relate with urban planning?

2018-2022 EU H2020 RURITAGE – Rural regeneration through systemic heritage-led strategiesproject (total value ca. €10m) (Plymouth work packages ca. £470k ), with Stewart, I., Rodwell,L., Pahl, S, led by the University of Bologna, Italy.
RURITAGE is a 4-year EU-funded project under the Horizon 2020 programm​​e. Ruritage establishes a new heritage-led rural regeneration approach, transforming rural areas into laboratories for sustainable development, building on the enhancement of their unique Cultural and Natural Heritage potential.
2017 South Devon AONB, “WemburyCorridors & Connections Project”. Award £5,000
2016 Seale-Hayne Educational Trust, ‘Revealing,measuring, and communicating the ‘value’ of water quality to the viability ofagricultural landscapes and estuary seascapes of South Devon’, with Dr Katharine Willis. Award: £6,500
2016 HeritageLottery Fund (HLF), ' Blackdown Hills Natural Futures, (Development of GIStools)', led by Blackdown Hills AONB. Award: £85,000 (UOP £4,000)
2015 ESF CUC Funding, 'LandscapeConnections and Perceptions', with Fiona Fyfe
2015 Leverhulme - Artist in residence grant, 'Tagscape', Artist: Dominica Williamson
2015 Natural England, 'Development of an App for Cultural Ecosystem Services'.
2015 Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), ' Blackdown Hills Natural Futures', led by Blackdown Hills AONB.
2014 Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), ''Giants Quoit, led by The Sustainable Trust.
2014 Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), 'Helping Hands for Heritage', £93,700, led by Tamar Valley AONB.
2014 South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, 'Plymouth Urban Fringe (Wembury area) Habitat and Landscape Opportunity Mapping', with Dr F Davey.
2013 Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, 'Cornwall AONB Landscape Monitoring Phase 2', with Land Use Consultants and Dr F Davey.
2013 Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, 'Wadebridge Biofuel Survey', with Silvanus Trust.
2013 Tamar Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, ' Landscape Monitoring', with Dr F Davey.
2012 South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, 'Creation of an App to capture landscape views perception' http://ratemyview.co.uk/ . 
2012 Seale-Hayne Educational Trust, 'Ecosystem services in protected landscapes ', £4,527, with Mr William Dommett. 
2011 Cornwall Council, 'Creation of a Toolkit to assess Seascape Character and Sensitivity to Offshore Developments', with Miss E Bowes. 
2011 Tamar Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, ' State of the AONB Atlas', with Mrs F Davey. 
2011 Blackdown Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, ' Establishing good practice guidelines for the use of GIS in AONB management', with Mrs F Davey. 
2011 South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, ‘Digital Atlases for Devon's Outstanding Landscapes', with Mrs F Davey. 
2010 RDA/ERDF Proof of Concept Fund, – “ Application of Geospatial Techniques to Landscape Character Assessment” , £12,100, with Mrs F Davey. 
2010 Seale-Hayne Educational Trust, ' Landscape Character Assessment (LCA) through contemporary moving image practice', £4,300. PI: Heidi Morstang 
2008 Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, ‘ Landscape Change in the Cornwall AONB ’, with Mrs F Davey. 
2008 Seale-Hayne Educational Trust, ‘Monitoring Landscape Change in the Tamar Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty’, £4,950, with Mrs F Davey and Dr S Lavender. 
2008 Vice-Chancellor's Community Research Award, ' Geo-environmental Assessment of Brentor Commons', £6,700, with Dr M Donkin. 
2005 Tamar Valley AONB Service, 'Development of a Tamar Valley GIS', with Dr S Lavender.
 

Reports & invited lectures

Conference on Cognitive Innovation for Sustainable Development,UP Open University, Laguna, Philippines, 24th and 25th January 2020. (Keynote speaker)

International Summer School on LEARNING BY GAME CREATION: Cultural Heritage, Cities and Digital Humanitie, Politecnico di Torino, Castello del Valentino, Turin (Italy). 1st - 8th September 2019. Organized by a joint initiative by Politecnico di Torino(POLITO-Italy) and Department of Urban and Regional Studies and Planning - and University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA-US). (invited speaker).

The Mobile Apps in Research Summit, University of Birmingham, December 4th 2013. (invited speaker, panel member) www.appsinresearchsummit.com/

Representing Desk Study Data, Geo-Engineering Data: Representation and Standardisation Workshop, Joint Technical Committee of International Society for Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, University of Nottingham (invited speaker). 
Geotechnical Databases, Meeting of Case Based Reasoning Systems for Landslides Project, University of Istanbul (invited speaker). 

Research Interests

  • Landscape Character Assessment
  • Use of ubiquitous technologies in landscape management, protection and planning
  • Green Spaces in Urban Planning
  • Seascape Assessment
  • The application of Knowledge-Based Systems (KBS) in Landscape Character Assessment.

Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals

In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):

  1. SDG 3 - Good Health and Well-being
    SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being
  2. SDG 4 - Quality Education
    SDG 4 Quality Education
  3. SDG 7 - Affordable and Clean Energy
    SDG 7 Affordable and Clean Energy
  4. SDG 8 - Decent Work and Economic Growth
    SDG 8 Decent Work and Economic Growth
  5. SDG 11 - Sustainable Cities and Communities
    SDG 11 Sustainable Cities and Communities
  6. SDG 14 - Life Below Water
    SDG 14 Life Below Water
  7. SDG 15 - Life on Land
    SDG 15 Life on Land

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