urban – Page 2

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

By Claire Hoolohan Filed Under: All posts, Cities and Environment, Energy and Environment, Urban Posted: April 5, 2022

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 […]

Decarbonising domestic heating

By Claire Brown Filed Under: All posts, Cities and Environment, Energy and Environment, Urban Posted: March 17, 2022

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 Anna Coleman and Nicola Gartland Filed Under: All posts, Cities and Environment, Health and Care, Urban Posted: March 14, 2022

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, […]

Urban greening and meaningful places

By Ian Mell Filed Under: All posts, Energy and Environment, Urban Posted: March 10, 2022

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 […]

Improving air quality in urban areas

By Sheena Cruickshank Filed Under: All posts, Cities and Environment, Urban Posted: February 3, 2022

Air pollution is the biggest environmental threat to health in the UK, thought to cause between 28,000 and 36,000 deaths a year. It has also been linked with the development and worsening of coronary heart disease, stroke, respiratory disease and lung cancer, exacerbates asthma and hay fever, and worsens the outcomes of respiratory infections such […]

How to build healthy cities

By James Evans, Luke Munford, David Topping, Sheena Cruickshank and Jamie Anderson Filed Under: All posts, Cities and Environment, Urban Posted: January 31, 2022

Cities are key places. Changing the way we plan and develop cities will be essential to meet our net zero targets as well as improve the health and lives of people in urban areas. In this blog, Professor James Evans, Dr Luke Munford, Professor David Topping, Professor Sheena Cruickshank and Dr Jamie Anderson explore the […]

Incorporating health and wellbeing into housing developments

By Caglar Koksal Filed Under: Cities and Environment, Urban Posted: January 27, 2022

Despite the health, social and environmental benefits of high-quality housing developments, delivering healthy and sustainable homes and neighbourhoods remains a challenging task. In this blog, Caglar Koksal outlines how housing developers and local authorities can work together to create healthy, high-quality homes while also addressing long-standing health and housing inequalities. High-quality developments deliver positive public […]

Digital platforms, COVID-19 and the reshaping of urban mobility

By Andy Lockhart, Mike Hodson and Andy McMeekin Filed Under: All posts, Science and Technology, Urban Posted: January 12, 2022

When COVID-19 struck, it caused unprecedented disruption to urban transport systems. Stay-at-home and social distancing orders had dramatic impacts on urban mobility. Cities around the world ground to a halt, and many saw a sudden and prolonged emptying out of urban centres. In this blog Dr Andy Lockhart, Prof Mike Hodson and Prof Andy McMeekin […]

Air Pollution: a UK opportunity to lead on tackling a global problem

By Hugh Coe Filed Under: All posts, Cities and Environment, Energy and Environment Posted: January 5, 2022

Poor air quality exacerbates socioeconomic inequalities and results in negative health outcomes, especially among vulnerable groups exposed to high levels of pollution. Air pollution remains a pressing global challenge against the backdrop of rapid urbanisation. In this blog, Professor Hugh Coe outlines opportunities for the UK to lead and co-develop solutions to address air pollution, […]

Critical social infrastructure for older people

By Sophie Yarker Filed Under: Growth and Inclusion Posted: May 1, 2019

Sophie Yarker is a Research Fellow at the Manchester Institute for Collaborative Research on Ageing (MICRA), working on the Greater Manchester-based Ambition for Ageing programme. In this blog, she discusses her research into the importance of social infrastructure for older people and the need to think about it in new ways. Face-to-face interactions are the […]