Rob Shields is Henry Marshall Tory Chair and Professor in the Departments of Sociology and of Art and Design. Previously he was Professor of Sociology and past Director of the Institute of Interdisciplinary Studies at Carleton University.

His focus has been urban cultural studies, particularly the social use and meanings of the built environment, urban spaces and regions, including tourist destinations, local identities, and the impact of changing spatializations on cultural identities. This intellectual project has been extended through a peer-reviewed journal Space and Culture (SAGE) founded in 1997.

He is the author of Lefebvre, Love and Struggle (Routledge, 1998), which is a widely cited classic in the field. He′s also authored or edited, among others, Ecologies of Affect (WLUP, 2011), What Is A City? Rethinking the Urban After Hurricane Katrina (UGP, 2008), The Virtual (Routledge, 2002), Places on the Margin and Lifestyle Shopping (both Routledge, 1992).