John Rennie Short

John Rennie Short is a professor of Public Policy at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Short is an expert on urban issues, environmental concerns, globalization, political geography and the history of cartography. He has studied cities around the world, and lectured around the world to a variety of audiences.  Before coming to UMBC in 2002, he was a professor at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University. From 1978 to 1990 he was lecturer in the University to Reading. Short has held visiting appointments as Senior Research Fellow at the Australian National University, as the Erasmus Professor at Groningen University and as the Leverhulme Professor at Loughborough University. Short received his M.A. from the University of Aberdeen, UK in 1973 and his Ph.D. from the University of Bristol, UK in 1976.

He is the author of over 30 books, 19 invited chapters to edited books and over 40 papers in such journals as Area, City, Environment and Planning, Geoforum, International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Journal of American Planning Association and Urban Studies. His work, The World Through Maps, was recognized by Discover Magazine as one of the outstanding science books of 2003. Short is a founding co-editor of the journal Society and Space, founding editor of the book series Space, Place and Society published by Syracuse University Press, founding co-editor of the Critical Introduction to Urbanism book series, and consultant to the 12 volume World and Its Peoples.