James first joined the Centre for Cities as a Research Intern for the summer of 2021. He returned to the Centre in January 2022 as a part-time Research Fellow, and became a full-time Analyst in April 2024.

Outside the Centre James is completing a DPhil student in Economic and Social History at Lincoln College, Oxford. His research, which is funded by the ESRC and EHS, concerns deindustrialisation processes in England and Wales. He holds a BA in History and Politics and an MSc in Economic and Social History from the University of Oxford.