James Lesh is a heritage researcher and consultant: please get in touch.
James’ expertise is in urban, planning and architectural heritage. He is particularly interested in the capacity for cultural heritage to facilitate placemaking, community participation, sustainability and design. As a historian and geographer, James adopts innovative methodologies and evidence-based approaches, for both conventional (historic and aesthetic) and emerging (social and sustainability) cultural heritage values.
Visit his blog heritage.city. His writing on heritage topics has appeared in leading academic refereed journals. James also contributes to wider discussions around history and conservation and has provided commentary to ABC Radio National, ABC Radio Melbourne, The Age, Herald Sun, 3AW Radio, The Conversation, Foreground, ArchitectureAU and other outlets.
Follow James on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, ResearchGate, Google Scholar, ORCID, or by subscribing to his blog heritage.city.
Research Affiliations
University of Melbourne (2020–21, 2014–19)
University of Sydney (2019–2020)
King’s College London (2016–2019)
University Teaching
James has coordinated and lectured postgraduate and undergraduate subjects in urban and cultural heritage and urban history at the University of Melbourne and University of Sydney. He currently teaches Principles of Heritage and Conservation, a core subject in the Master of Urban and Cultural Heritage at the University of Melbourne.
Qualifications
Doctor of Philosophy, University of Melbourne
Master of Arts (Geography), Queen Mary University of London
Bachelor of Arts with Honours (History), University of Melbourne
Bachelor of Commerce, University of Melbourne
Professional Affiliations
Australia ICOMOS (Full International Member)
Citizens for Melbourne (Co-Founder and Vice-President)
Professional Historians Association (Professional Historian)
Major prizes and awards
Citizens for Melbourne: Bates Smart Award for Architecture in the Media (Advocacy Award), Victorian Chapter, Australian Institute of Architects, 2020.
Australian Postgraduate Award, University of Melbourne.
Australian Bicentennial Scholarship, King’s College London.
Principal’s Prize for Outstanding Academic Achievement, Queen Mary University of London.
AGL Shaw Summer Research Fellowship, State Library of Victoria.
Last updated: July 2020.