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Robert Oliver

Associate Professor
Robert Oliver
203 Wallace Hall (0115)
295 West Campus Drive
Blacksburg, VA
24061
oliverr@vt.edu
540-231-5523

I moved from Canada to Virginia Tech in the summer of 2007. I am an urban-historical geographer who investigates the relationships, relevance, and risks of mega-event bidding (i.e. Olympics) to urban policy, planning, and practice. Most notably, my work on Toronto's fifty-year quest to secure the Olympic Games argues that we need to rethink the 'legacies of losing' and the 'geography of failure' to consider how bids for large sporting are actually being leveraged to achieve a variety of urban and political objectives. I am also interested in the politics of urban change with newer research interests seeking to explore how the continued quantification of cities through various efforts of experimental design and smart city building is altering the geography of everyday life.

Areas of Expertise:

  • Geography of the Modern City
  • Urban-Political Geography
  • Mega-Event Planning and Politics (with a particular interest in waterfront        development and sport development)
  • Sustainable Urbanization and Smart Cities

Education:

  • Ph.D. - Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada, 2008 
  • M.A. - Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada, 2000 

  • Introduction to Human Geography (GEOG 1004)
  • Sustainable Urbanization (GEOG 2244/SPIA 2244)
  • Geography of North America (GEOG 2214)
  • The U.S. City (GEOG 3244)
  • Ryan Shayer. 2024. M.S. Investigating the Future and Image of Leesburg, Virginia.
    Professor(s): Robert Oliver
  • Damien Geffroy. 2019. M.S. A City of Projects: Grand Paris, The 2024 Summer Olympics, and the Jurisdictional Negotiation of Contemporary Paris
    Professor(s): Robert Oliver
  • Erik Olson. 2018. M.S. Rescinding a Bid: Stockholm's Uncertain Relationship with the Olympic Games.
    Professor(s): Robert Oliver
  • Camille Martineau. 2016. M.S. Still Last on the List: Examining Patterns of Economic Distress in Appalachia.
    Professor(s): Robert Oliver
  • Bailey Kyle. 2015. M.S. The Road to Rio: Infrastructure, Image, New Media, and the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
    Professor(s): Robert Oliver

2021 Outstanding Teaching Award. College of Natural Resources and Environment (CNRE). April 8, 2021.

2020 Excellence in Teaching Award. SouthEastern Division of the American Association of Geographers (SEDAAG).

2019 Design and Develop Award. TLOS (Technology-Enhanced Learning and Online Strategies), Division of Information Technology, Virginia Tech.

2018 Pathways Development and Delivery Grant. Office of General Education and The Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, April 25, 2018.

2016-2017 Recognition of Teaching Excellence 2016-2017. Center for Instructional Development and Educational Research (CIDER), the Department of Academic Advising, and the Office of First Year Experiences. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University,  April 26, 2017.

2017 Favorite Faculty. Division of Student Affairs Residence Life, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, April 5, 2017.

2015-2017 Pathways Scholar, Office of Undergraduate Academic Affairs at Virginia Tech.

2016 Favorite Faculty Division of Student Affairs Residence Life, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, April 21, 2016.

2015 Certificate of Teaching Excellence.  Center for Instructional Development and Educational Research (CIDER), Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 2015.

2015 Scholar of the Week, Office of the Vice President for Research, Virginia Tech, January 12, 2015. 

2015 Favorite Faculty, Division of Student Affairs Residence Life, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, April 1, 2015.

2013 Teacher of the Week, Center for Instructional Development and Educational Research (CIDER), Virginia Tech, April 29, 2013.

2013 Outstanding Faculty Award, College of Natural Resources and Environment (nominated by students and student clubs and organizations), Virginia Tech, April 2013.

2013 Favorite Faculty, Division of Student Affairs Residence Life, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, April 3, 2013.

2012 Teaching Excellence Award, College of Natural Resources and Environment Curriculum Clubs, Virginia Tech, 2012.

2010 Favorite Faculty, Division of Student Affairs Residence Life, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, April 7, 2010.

2010 Virginia Tech Panhellenic Council Faculty Recognition. October 20, 2010.

  • Shayer, R. Oliver, R., and Cowell, M. (2024). “On the edge of completeness: The struggle to negotiate an ‘urban’ identity in Leesburg, VA.” Southeastern Geographer 64(4), 425-449. 
    https://doi.org/10.1353/sgo.2024.a942023
  • Geffroy, D., Oliver, R., Juran, L., and Skuzinski, T. (2021). Projecting the Metropolis: Paris 2024 and the (re)scaling of metropolitan governance. Cities. 114. 
    https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2021.103189
  • Oliver, R. (2017). “Sport mega event planning in Toronto: From a democratic demand to a democratic demise.” The Canadian Geographer / Le Geographe canadien. 61(2): 292-299. 
    https://doi.org/10.1111/cag.12336
  • Bailey, K. Oliver, R., Gaffney, C. and Kolivras, K. (2017). “Negotiating “New” Narratives: Rio de Janeiro and the “Media Geography” of the 2014 World Cup.” Journal of Sport and Social Issues. Vol. 41(1), 70-93.
    https://doi.org/10.1177/0193723516680159
  • Bellas, L. and R. Oliver. (2016). “Rescaling Ambitions: Waterfront Governance and Toronto’s 2015 Pan American Games.” Journal of Urban Affairs. 38(5): 676-691. 
    https://doi.org/10.1111/juaf.12292

Books

  • Oliver, Robert and John Lauermann. (2017). Failed Olympic Bids and the Transformation of Urban Space. London, UK: Palgrave Macmillan

Book Chapters

  • Juran, R. Oliver, D.C. Read (2022). Water sector reconstruction for post-disaster housing settlements: a tale of two governance models. In Resilient water management strategies in urban settings: innovations in decentralized water infrastructure systems, T. Younos, J. Lee, T. Parece (eds.), 227-243. Switzerland: Springer Water.
  • Oliver, Robert. (2020). A ‘host of priorities’: Toronto’s pursuit of urban waterfront development rough Olympic bidding. in Graeme Evans (Ed.). Mega Events: Place-making, Regeneration and City-Regional Development, 1st Edition. Routledge.
  • Olson, E., R. Oliver and L. Juran. (2020). Bidding trepidation: Stockholm’s uncertain relationship with the Olympic Games. in Graeme Evans (Ed.). Mega Events: Place-making, Regeneration and City-Regional Development, 1st Edition. Routledge.

Encyclopedic Entries

  • Thomas, V. and Oliver, R. (2020). “Edmonton Tornado, Canada, 1987” In Paul, B. K. (Ed.). Natural Hazards and Disasters: From Avalanches and Climate Change to Water Spouts and Wildfires Volume 2. ABC-CLIO, pp. 101-105.
  • Oliver, R. and Thomas, V. (2020). “Great Ice Storm of 1998, Canada” In Paul, B. K. (Ed.). Natural Hazards and Disasters: From Avalanches and Climate Change to Water Spouts and Wildfires Volume 2. ABC-CLIO, pp. 118-122.

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