Max is a Research Fellow at LSE’s Spatial Economics Research Centre and at LSE Cities, where he works on urban economics and economic development issues. He completed an urban policy and spatial economics PhD in LSE’s Geography Department in 2011. His doctoral research looks at the economics of cultural diversity in British cities, and links between immigration, diversity and innovation.

Max has 12 years’ experience working in think tanks, consultancy and public policy environments. Most recently he worked at the UK Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG) as an ESRC-DCLG Senior Policy Adviser, covering a range of policy issues including localism, regeneration, innovation and economic development.

In 2005, Max helped set up the Centre for Cities think tank, where he ran the research programme, and is now a member of the Centre’s Research Advisory Board. He is also a Visiting Scholar at the Institute of Urban and Region Development, UC Berkeley, and sits on the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Knowledge-Based Development.

Max blogs on urban policy at http://squareglasses.wordpress.com. He also enjoys photography: his pictures have variously appeared in The Wire magazine, Londonist, Der Spiegel and Getty Images. Follow Max on Twitter at @iammaxnathan.