UCO’s London Research Tour 2026

By: J. David Chapman, PhD, / May 8, 2026

I’m writing this week’s column from a transatlantic flight aboard a Boeing 777 bound for London. Alongside me are seven student researchers from the University of Central Oklahoma, all part of our annual London Research Tour. Over the past decade, this program has provided students with rare, hands-on opportunities to study the built environment and its effects on urban life.

Each year, our research focus shifts to reflect both local and global planning challenges. In previous trips, we have explored redevelopment projects, privately owned public places, third places, walkability, and the complex relationship between gentrification and neighborhood change. This year, however, the timing could not be better.

As Oklahoma City and the broader metropolitan area continue discussing the future of regional transportation, including commuter rail and other transit investments, our students will spend the next two weeks studying what happens when transportation infrastructure reshapes communities in real time.

This year’s research focuses on two communities in southeast London: Abbey Wood and Woolwich. Both are connected by the Elizabeth Line, one of the most significant transportation investments in modern British history. Yet despite sharing the same rail infrastructure, the two places are evolving very differently.

Abbey Wood has historically functioned as more of a suburban residential community. The arrival of the Elizabeth Line dramatically improved connectivity to central London, reduced commute times, and sparked expectations of large-scale redevelopment. Yet much of Abbey Wood still feels like an existing place trying to adapt to change incrementally.

Woolwich presents a different story. Historically tied to military and industrial uses through the Royal Arsenal, the area has experienced massive redevelopment tied directly to transit investment. High density housing, mixed use projects, public spaces, restaurants, and new retail continue reshaping the district into something much more urban in character.

For our students, the central research question is both simple and important: Why do some places create vibrant everyday social life while others struggle to move beyond being transportation nodes?

In many ways, this mirrors the very conversations taking place in Oklahoma today. Transit alone does not automatically create community. Rail stations, bus routes, and infrastructure are only part of the equation. What matters is what surrounds them: walkability, third places, housing density, public gathering spaces, local businesses, and the human experience of place.

Our students will spend the week conducting observational research, interviews, spatial analysis, and comparative field work. We will apply concepts from urban theorists such as Edward Soja and Eric Klinenberg while also using ideas from my recent book, subURBAN! Reimagining the Suburban Downtown. The focus is not simply transportation. It is how transportation interacts with everyday life.

One of the most rewarding aspects of this program is watching students begin to see cities differently. They stop viewing development as isolated buildings and begin understanding the relationship between infrastructure, design, economics, and human behavior. A coffee shop is no longer just a coffee shop. A public square is no longer empty space. A train station becomes more than transportation. These places either encourage human interaction or discourage it.

Over the years, this program has become much more than a study tour. It has evolved into a living laboratory where students experience firsthand how cities succeed, fail, adapt, and reinvent themselves. They also discover that many of the challenges facing London are not all that different from those facing Oklahoma City, Edmond, Norman, and communities across the United States.

That may ultimately be the greatest lesson of all. Cities across the world are asking similar questions:
How do we create places where people actually want to live, gather, and stay?

For the next two weeks, our students will be searching for answers one train stop, one neighborhood, and one conversation at a time.

Dr. J. David Chapman is a Professor of Finance & Real Estate at The University of Central Oklahoma (jchapman7@uco.edu)