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Making light work: Recommendations for healthy lighting

By and Filed Under: Cities and Environment, Health and Care, Science and Technology, Urban Posted:

Light exposure has important effects on human health and wellbeing, regulating our sleep/wake cycles, and influencing our mental and physical health. Advances in our understanding of the role of light in health, and emerging lighting technologies, now present opportunities to adjust lighting to promote optimal physical and mental health and performance. In this blog, Professor […]

An elderly woman sits on a bench near a large pond, on her own.

What we need to know next about loneliness

By Filed Under: Growth and Inclusion, Health and Care, Urban Posted:

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on the UK’s mental health, particularly loneliness. Data from spring 2021 found a million more adults were feeling lonely “often” or “always” compared to spring 2020. Now, a recent evidence review for DCMS, led by Professor Pamela Qualter, has set out what we know – and don’t […]

Child of the North: Pregnancy and early years

Anna Sanders By and Filed Under: All posts, British Politics, Cities and Environment, Growth and Inclusion, Health and Care, Health and Social Care, Urban Posted:

Evidence makes it clear that exposure to adversity and stress has vast potential to negatively influence the trajectory of a person’s health and wellbeing throughout their life. In this blog, Professor Pamela Qualter and Dr Anna Sanders present the key findings of a Child of the North report, co-authored with colleagues from Newcastle, Bradford, Sheffield, […]

picture of a windmill and a factory emitting smoke

Why policy on air quality and greenhouse gas emissions needs to be joined-up

Grant Allen By Filed Under: All posts, Cities and Environment, Energy and Environment, Urban Posted:

Reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and improving air quality are closely linked objectives but are not considered simultaneously under current policy frameworks. In this blog, Professor Grant Allen discusses the benefits of developing a common policy framework aligning GHGs reduction goals with improvements in air quality. Considering these two objectives simultaneously, rather than in isolation, […]

water sink

Reimagining water consumption: challenges and opportunities to reduce domestic water demand in the UK

Claire Hoolohan By Filed Under: All posts, Cities and Environment, Energy and Environment, Urban Posted:

Emissions related to domestic water use contribute 5-6% of total UK greenhouse gas emissions. Reducing emissions from domestic water use is necessary for the UK to meet its ambitious target of achieving net zero emissions by 2050. However, current policy instruments to reduce water-related emissions remain limited in scope. In this blog, Dr Claire Hoololan […]

Group of young people in blue overalls listen to instructor and look happy.

Levelling Up Education: what place-based education could look like

Headshot of Eric Lybeck By Filed Under: All posts, British Politics, Growth and Inclusion, Urban Posted:

Earlier this year, the government published its much anticipated white paper, Levelling Up the United Kingdom, which outlined 12 interventions deemed necessary to tackle the regional inequalities that have grown in recent decades. In this blog, Dr Eric Lybeck argues that, at root, the government and its economists see this imbalance, not as the result […]

man operating heater

Decarbonising domestic heating

Claire Brown By Filed Under: All posts, Cities and Environment, Energy and Environment, Urban Posted:

Home is where the heart is, but with climate change the way our homes are built and required to function is shifting. Overheating is just one example that is being discussed at length within the academic and commercial sectors. Projections for UK homes in 2050 and 2080 show significant issues around overheating and sustained overheating […]

Public transport and the pandemic: perceptions of risk and mitigation

By and Filed Under: All posts, Cities and Environment, Health and Care, Urban Posted:

Throughout the pandemic, public transport has been identified as a significant potential hub of transmission for the disease, with messaging urging people to avoid it wherever possible. Despite this guidance, however, there was little evidence on how great this risk was, or the effectiveness of mitigation measures such as masks and ventilation. In this blog, […]

green infrastructure

Urban greening and meaningful places

Ian Mell By Filed Under: All posts, Energy and Environment, Urban Posted:

Green infrastructure provides multi-functional benefits to society in terms of health and wellbeing, biodiversity protection, climate change mitigation and economic growth. In this blog, Dr Ian Mell outlines policy recommendations to effectively integrate green infrastructure in urban areas to create greener, more resilient and meaningful places.   Considerations of access to green or blue spaces […]

picture of a wood burner

Indoor and outdoor wood burning needs a new way of thinking

Amanda Lea-Langton By Filed Under: All posts, Cities and Environment, Energy and Environment, Renewables, Urban Posted:

Biomass combustion, a significant contributor to fine particulate matter (PM 2.5), has increased in urban areas due to the growing popularity of wood-burning stoves and biomass boilers. In this blog, Dr. Amanda Lea-Langton, Senior Lecturer in Bioenergy Engineering at The University of Manchester and member of the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change, outlines policy recommendations […]

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