Prior to arriving at Cardiff, Richard completed undergraduate and postgraduate studies at the Department of Geography, Cambridge University. Whilst there, he worked as a researcher for the UK Centre for Economic and Environmental Development (UK CEED).
Since arriving at the School of City and Regional Planning Richard has held appointments as a Research Fellow (1996-2000), Lecturer (2000-2005), Senior Lecturer (2005-2011) and Reader (2011 to present).
In 2010, Richard was appointed as the Course Director for the MSc in Sustainability Planning and Environmental Policy (SPEP).
From September 2012, he became the Cardiff coordinator for the international Masters PLANET Europe (MSc in European Spatial Planning and Environmental Policy).