Matthew Rofe

Dr Matthew Rofe

Research Degree Coordinator

School of Communication, Media and Journalism

College of Creative Arts, Design and Humanities

Eligible to supervise Masters and PhD - email supervisor to discuss availability.

Available For Media Comment.

Dr Matthew Rofe is trained as an Urban Geographer. The central theme of his research agenda involves unravelling the complexity of human landscapes and the often conflicting meanings that are attached to place. While the majority of Matthew’s research has been urban based, pertaining to the critiquing of discourses of global city development and the power imbalances embodied both between and within global cities, he has recently commenced applying urban based theories of revitalisation and place making to rural contexts. This approach draws from a wide range of theories addressing issues such as culture, consumption, community, globalisation and localisation. Matthew has also conducted research into residential segregation, gated communities, sexuality, masculinity and identity performance amongst sub-cultural groups. Presently Matthew is researching globalisation and the emergence of international educating cities (focusing upon Adelaide), urban revitalisation projects and entrepreneurial governance (focusing upon Port Adelaide ) and media constructions of 'deviant' places (focusing upon the Snowtown 'bodies in barrels' case).

Year Citation
2023 Rofe, M. W. (2023). Memorial landscapes, recognition, and marginalisation: a critical assessment of Adelaide's 'cultural heart'. Landscape Research, 48(5), 632-646.
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2023 Rofe, M. W., & Ripmeester, M. (2023). Memorial landscapes and contestation: destabilising artefacts of stability. Landscape Research, 48(5), 609-614.
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2023 Dewi, C., Rofe, M., Nichols, J., & Izziah, I. (2023). Heritage and the COVID-19 pandemic: the meaning of visitation. Built Heritage, 7(11), 1-11.
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2021 Rofe, M. W., & Mogford, M. (2021). Beyond plans. Beyond design. Atmosphere and the lifeworld of small-street activation in Adelaide, South Australia. Landscape Research, 46(1), 36-49.
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2017 Rofe, M., & Cetinich, E. (2017). A lone light? A critical assessment of the outcomes of the Rundle Convergence Project in Adelaide, South Australia. Journal of urban design, 22(3), 411-427.
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2016 Rofe, M. W., & Woosnam, C. L. (2016). Festivals as a vehicle for place promotion: cars, contestation and the creative city ethos. Landscape research, 41(3), 344-359.
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2016 Rofe, M. W. (2016). The city of corpses? Contested urban identity and the stigma of crime in Adelaide, South Australia. Landscape research, 41(8), 966-979.
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2015 Rofe, M. W. (2015). Memory, management and marketing: heritage tourism as a catalyst for urban transformation. Bhumi, the planning research journal, 4(2), 45-54.
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2014 Marzuki, A., Rofe, M. W., & Hashim, N. A. M. (2014). Disputes on nature-based tourism development in northern peninsular Malaysia. Tourism analysis, 19(4), 525-530.
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2013 Rofe, M. W. (2013). Considering the limits of rural place making opportunities: rural dystopias and dark tourism. Landscape research, 38(2), 262-272.
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2012 Huibin, X., Marzuki, A., Rofe, M., & Razak, A. A. (2012). International tourism in China: the conceptualization of a development pattern model. International journal of safety and security in tourism/ hospitality, 1(2), 1-19.
2011 Rofe, M. W., & Stein, L. (2011). Shedding new light on Adelaide? Intersections between urban design projects and city marketing. Journal of urban design, 16(3), 333-350.
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2009 Rofe, M. W., & Szili, G. (2009). Name games 1 : place names as rhetorical devices. Landscape Research, 34(3), 361-370.
DOI WoS6
2009 Rofe, M. W. (2009). Globalisation, gentrification and spatial hierarchies in and beyond New South Wales: the local/global nexus. Geographical research, 47(3), 292-305.
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2007 Maginn, P., & Rofe, M. W. (2007). Urban and regionalism down under: an introduction. Space and Polity, 11(3), 201-208.
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2007 Rofe, M. W. (2007). The Emancipatory City? Paradoxes and possibilities. Urban Policy and Research, 25(1), 161-166.
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2007 Szili, G., & Rofe, M. W. (2007). Greening Port Misery: the green face of waterfront redevelopment in Port Adelaide, South Australia. Urban Policy and Research, 25(3), 363-384.
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2007 Rofe, M. W. (2007). Urban revitalisation and masculine memories: towards a critical awareness of gender in the postindustrial landscape. Australian Planner.
2006 Rofe, M. W. (2006). New landscapes of gated communities : Australia's sovereign islands. Landscape research, 31(3), 309-317.
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2006 Rofe, M. W., & Oakley, S. (2006). Constructing the port : external perceptions and interventions in the making of place in Port Adelaide, South Australia. Geographical research.
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2006 Rofe, M. W. (2006). From 'problem city' to 'promise city' : gentrification and the revitalisation of Newcastle. Australian geographical studies, 42(2), 193-206.
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2006 Rofe, M., & Oakley, S. (2006). Constructing the Port: External Perceptions and Intervention in the Creation of Place in Port Adelaide, South Australia. Geographical Research, 44(3), 272-284.
DOI Scopus18
2003 Rofe, M. W. (2003). I want to be global : theorising the gentrifying class as an emergent elite global community. Urban Studies, 40(12), 2511-2526.
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2003 Rofe, M. W., & Winchester, H. P. M. (2003). Masculine scripting and the mythology of motorcycling. Journal of interdisciplinary gender studies.

Year Citation
2025 Dewi, C., Nichols, J., Rofe, M., Izziah., & Hizra, F. (2025). Negotiating risk and leisure-resilience: visiting tourism sites during the COVID-19 pandemic. In A. Opdyke, & L. Rivera (Eds.), Event/exhibition information: The 2022 Aceh International Workshop and Expo on Sustainable Tsunami Disaster Recovery (AIWEST-DR), Sydney, Australia, 29/09/2022-30/09/2022
Source details - Title: Inclusive and Integrated Disaster Risk Reduction (pp. 537-545). Cham :: Springer.
DOI
2024 Rofe, M. W., & Ripmeester, M. (2024). Guest editing journal special issues: triumphs, tribulations and tips to maximise the former and minimise the latter. In I. Hay, G. Butler, & G. Szili (Eds.), Source details - Title: How to Edit and Manage a Successful Scholarly Journal: Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (pp. 47-58). UK: Edward Elgar Publishing.
DOI
2011 Kellett, J., & Rofe, M. (2011). Urban open space and health: the evidence base. In P. Roetman, & C. Daniels (Eds.), Creating Sustainable Communities in a Changing World (pp. 199-206). Adelaide: Crawford House Publishing Australia.
2011 Rofe, M. W., & Winchester, H. M. (2011). Marketing a sustainable rural Utopia: the evolution of a community festival. In C. Gibson, & J. Connell (Eds.), Source details - Title: Festival places: revitalising rural Australia (pp. 194-208). United Kingdom: Taylor and Francis.
2011 Rofe, M., Mohamad, D., & Marzuki, A. (2011). The complexities of social sustainability: balancing tradition and change in a UNESCO world heritage site. In P. Roetman, & C. Daniels (Eds.), Source details - Title: Creating sustainable communities in a changing world (pp. 95-101). Australia: Crawford House Publishing.
2010 Lothian, A., Marks, J., Szili, G., & Rofe, M. W. (2010). Perceptions of water in the urban landscape. In C. B. Daniels (Ed.), Source details - Title: Adelaide: water of a city (pp. 396-412). Adelaide: Wakefield Press.
2010 Rofe, M. W., & Winchester, H. P. M. (2010). Qualitative research and its place in human geography - 3rd edition. In I. Hay (Ed.), Source details - Title: Qualitative Research Methods in Human Geography (3 ed., pp. 3-25). Toronto: Oxford University Press.
2007 Rofe, M. W., & Winchester, H. P. M. (2007). Lobethal the valley of praise : inventing tradition for the purposes of place making in rural South Australia. In Source details - Title: Geographies of Australian heritages : loving a sunburnt country? (pp. 133-150). Hampshire, England: Ashgate.

Year Citation
2019 Liao, P., Gu, N., Brisbin, C., & Rofe, M. (2019). Discovering the spatial properties of Chinese historic towns through mathematical means: an evidence-based approach. In Proceedings of the 12th Space Syntax Symposium (pp. 1-16). China: Beijing Jiaotong University.
2019 Liao, P., Gu, N., Brisbin, C., Rofe, M., & Soltani, S. (2019). Computationally mapping spatial properties of Chinese historic towns using space syntax. In Proceedings of the 24th International Conference of the Association for Computer-Aided Architectural Design Research in Asia (CAADRIA 2019) Vol. 1 (pp. 362-370). Hong Kong: The Association for Computer-Aided Architectural Design Research in Asia (CAADRIA).
2018 Liao, P., Rofe, M., Brisbin, C., & Gu, N. (2018). Towards a new computational approach to conserving the spatial authenticity of historic towns within a heritage tourism framework. In R. Amoêda, & S. Pinheiro (Eds.), Heritage 2018: proceedings of the 6th international conference on heritage and sustainable development Vol. 2 (pp. 1769-1780). Portugal: Green Lines Institute for Sustainable Development.
2016 Rofe, M. W., & Maior Barron, D. (2016). 'Remember my friend that knowledge is stronger than memory, and we should not trust the weaker': on World Heritage, authenticity and 'Dracula' tourism at Sighişoara. In R. Amoêda, S. Lira, & C. Pinheiro (Eds.), Heritage 2016 - Proceedings Of The 5th International Conference On Heritage And Sustainable Development Vol. 2 (pp. 1831-1840). Portugal: Green Lines Institute for Sustainable Development.
2014 Rofe, M. W., & Karimi, M. (2014). At home in heritage: an Inquiry into belonging and a sense of place in a World Heritage Site in Isfahan City, Iran. In R. Amoeda, S. Lira, & C. Pinheiro (Eds.), Heritage 2014: Proceedings of the 4th International conference on heritage and sustainable development (pp. 603-610). Portugal: Green Lines Institute for Sustainable Development.
2014 Butland, R. E., & Rofe, M. W. (2014). Boutiques hotels and the packaging of 'Asia' for tourist consumption: the spatial and temporal re-imagining of heritage in a cultural World Heritage site. In R. Amoeda, S. Lira, & C. Pinheiro (Eds.), Heritage 2014: Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Heritage and Sustainable Development (pp. 1223-1230). Portugal: Green Lines Institute for Sustainable Development.
2013 Leditschke, A., Butland, R. E., & Rofe, M. W. (2013). Understanding the role and expectations of local government planners in the contemporary political environment : a South Australian perspective. In K. Ruming, B. Randolph, & N. Gurran (Eds.), State of Australian Cities Conference 2013: Refereed Proceedings (pp. 1-10). NSW: State of Australian Cities Research Network.
2013 Leditschke, A., Kellett, J., Rofe, M., & Butland, R. (2013). Expectations and realities: an exploration in teaching planning ethics to university students. In B. Norman (Ed.), Proceedings of the Australia and New Zealand Association of Planning Schools 2013 Conference (pp. 21-30). Australia: University of Canberra.
2012 Chileshe, N., & Rofe, M. W. (2012). Australasian Journal of Construction Economics and Building (AJCEB) Conference Series; Vol 1, issue 2. In Australasian Journal of Construction Economicsand Building (AJCEB) Conference Series; Vol 1, issue 2. Australia: University of Technology Sydney.
2012 Szili, G. E., & Rofe, M. W. (2012). 'Our harbor. .. their dream' Heritage, history and heartache in the redevelopment of the Port Adelaide waterfront, South Australia. In Proceedings of the 15th International Planning History Society Conference (pp. 1-15). Brazil: University of Sao Paulo.
2012 Chileshe, N., Rofe, M. W., Rameezdeen, R., Sivam, A., Weber, D., Karuppannan, S., . . . Butland, R. (Eds.) (2012). Proceedings of the 6th International conference and workshop on the built environment in developing countries. In Proceedings of the 6th International conference and workshop on the built environment in developing countries. Australia: Casual Productions.
2012 Marzuki, A., Masron, T., & Rofe, M. (2012). Analysis on land use changes in Penang Island, Malaysia. In N. Chileshe (Ed.), Proceedings of the 6th International Conference and Workshop on the Built Environment in Developing Countries (pp. 74-85). Adelaide, Australia: ICBEDC.
2010 Rofe, M., & Mohamad, D. (2010). The complexities of built and cultural heritage in George Town, Penang: student perspectives on a UNESCO World Heritage site. In A. A. Bakar, & N. Badarulzaman (Eds.), Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Built Environment in Developing Countries (ICBEDC 2010) (pp. 1895-1906). Penang, Malaysia: Universiti Sains Malaysia.
2009 Szili, G., & Rofe, M. W. (2009). The naming game: The politics of place names as tools for urban regenerative practice?. In State of Australian Cities Conference proceedings (pp. 1-25). Perth, Australia.
2009 Mohamad, D., Hamnett, S., & Rofe, M. W. (2009). Telecommuting and travel: a literature review comparision. In Proceedings of the 13th Conference of the Road Engineering Association of Asia and Australasia (REAAA) - Future Roads, Safer, Greener and Smarter (pp. 1-7). Malaysia: REAAA.
2007 Rofe, M. W., & Macintyre, C. (2007). Educational markets as urban development generators: intersections of governance, international students and local communities in Adelaide, South Australia. In Proceedings of the State of Australian Cities National Conference 2007 (pp. 397-406). Australia: State of Australian Cities.

Courses I teach

  • COMM 2101 Creative Spaces and Places (2025)
  • GRAP 5004 Professional Placement or Project (2025)

Date Role Research Topic Program Degree Type Student Load Student Name
2024 Principal Supervisor Design, creativity and zen Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Nigel Roger Black
2023 Principal Supervisor - Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Ms Madeleine Elyse Hughes Parkyn
2023 Principal Supervisor - Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Miss Anneliese Abela
2014 Principal Supervisor - Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Darren Milton Starr

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