Sustainable Society Projects
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Sustainable Society Projects
Current research projects
Fellowship: Residential cooling in a changing climate: Current practices, future expectations, and policy options
40°C has been recorded in the UK for the first time in July 2022 and global warming is already being felt across the country. The Met Office predicts that due to climate change, heatwaves are 30 times more likely to happen. Despite this outlook, little attention has been paid to cooling in UK policy and research. There is limited data on how households behave towards extreme heat and their awareness of low-carbon cooling technologies. Therefore, this timely research will engage with policymakers to understand their needs and to help design a nationwide online survey. The research then engages with 1500 households through the survey across England to explore the households’ cooling behaviour and their awareness of low-carbon cooling technologies. The results will be discussed with the policymakers through a deliberative workshop to provide cooling policy recommendations.
Funded by: British Academy
SRI theme: Sustainable Society
SRI role: Project Leader
Beckton Sustainable Living
The Beckton Sustainable Living Project, based in Winsor Park Estate, is situated behind UEL's Docklands campus. Discussions with the Winsor Park Estate community team had highlighted the absence of a cohesive residents association and high levels of unemployment and ill health. Racial and cultural divisions and social isolation, particularly for older people, are a feature of living on the estate.
As part of its wider strategy to address these social divisions, East Thames Housing and Newham Council is forming a residents growing group in partnership with the SRI at UEL. UEL has secured £15K from the Higher Education Innovation Fund to develop the project. The aim is to show how local food production can enable more sustainable lifestyles and help reduce food miles and carbon emissions relating to imports from the wider area.
With a focus on growing herbs used in different cuisines, the project will enable the diverse community at Winsor Park Estate to interact and engage with each other. The SRI has secured a further £5000 donation from the Sanctuary Group, a leading social housing provider in the area, which will enable young people supported by the New Choice for Youth Trust to learn about food production, and landscape gardening and maintenance. The project is kicking off with site construction, using existing resources and donated materials.
Funded by: HEIF
SRI theme: Sustainable Living - community asset management
SRI role: Lead on community engagement and participation programmes
Bumblebee Conservation
Building from the SRI’s research into the habitat and habitat management requirements of the two UK Biodiversity Action Plan bumblebee species the shrill carder bee (Bombus sylvarum) and brown-banded carder bee in South Essex, SRI researchers are working on two bumblebee conservation projects. One is in Thamesmead and one in Beckton. They are using ReWilding funding and community engagement approaches to create new habitats for these two rare species of bumblebee.
Funded by: Greater London Authority
SRI theme: Green Infrastructure (invertebrate conservation) & Sustainable Society
SRI role: Research lead
London Strategic SuDS Pilot Scheme
LSSPS is a collaborative programme to mainstream small-scale urban Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) across London.
The SRI is working with Thames 21 on a research programme to explore the barriers to mainstreaming SuDS and to develop evidence and processes to support others in addressing these barriers.
This includes exploring stakeholder experience and designing and implementing monitoring programmes for SuDS schemes implemented in inner and outer London boroughs through the LSSPS scheme.
Funder: Thames Water Ltd
SRI theme: Green Infrastructure (urban green infrastructure), Sustainable Society
SRI role: Lead
The Pilot Project
In this project, funded as part of the Universities UK’s “twin for hope” initiative, the University of East London have twinned with Cherkasy State Technological University (ChSTU) to assess whether communities and civil groups could be trained in the use of drones to collect building damage data using small drones and whether the data collected could be assessed by volunteers across the world.
Learn more about the Pilot Project.
Funder: Universities UK
SRI theme: Sustainable Society
SRI role: Co-lead
Previous research projects
Renfrew Gardens
The SRI is leading a monitoring programme in partnership with the Environment Agency, Newham Council, Thames Water, Bob Bray Associates and Groundwork London, to assess the hydrological performance of three rain gardens. The rain gardens are situated in Renfrew Close, in the London Borough of Newham. The project has been running for over two years and aims to capture the rainwater attenuation efficacy of channelling roof runoff through a rain garden system. The project aims to highlight both the ecological and hydrological benefits of such a system.
Funded by: Environment Agency
SRI theme: Green Infrastructure (urban green infrastructure), Sustainable Society (Governance)
SRI role: Lead on ecosystem service monitoring
Find out more information about Renfrew Gardens.
Connecting Nature
Coordinated by Trinity College Dublin, Connecting Nature is a collaborative partnership of 31 organisations including local authorities, communities, industry partners, NGOs and academics. Our partnership is working across 16 European countries, Brazil, China, Korea & The Caucasus (Georgia and Armenia) which are investing in multi-million euro large-scale implementation of nature-based projects in urban settings. We are measuring the impact of these initiatives on climate change adaptation, health and well-being, social cohesion and sustainable economic development in these cities. Innovative actions to foster the start-up and growth of commercial and social enterprises active in producing nature-based solutions and products are an integral part of our work.
The European Commission defines nature-based solutions as solutions that are "inspired and supported by nature, which are cost-effective, simultaneously providing environmental, social and economic benefits and helping to build resilience." Nature-based solutions protect, sustainably manage and restore natural or modified ecosystems, which address challenges facing humanity (e.g. climate change, food and water security or natural disasters). At the same time, nature-based solutions bestow wider benefits to human well-being and biodiversity.
Nature-based solutions remain a relatively new concept in urban planning and the phrase is still not widely used. Part of the project involves driving change in the understanding, use and implementation of this concept as societies seek to effectively tackle environmental issues through innovation.
SRI is the leader for WORK PACKAGE 3 in Connecting Nature - SCALING UP AND FINANCING WITHIN FRONT RUNNER CITIES.
The role in the project of SRI researchers Dr Stuart Connop, Dr Caroline Nash, and Sam Jelliman is to work directly with the local authority partners of three cities that already have established expertise in relation to different aspects of delivering nature-based solutions. These cities are Genk in Belgium, Glasgow in Scotland, and Poznań in Poland.
Funded by: European Commission
SRI theme: Green Infrastructure (urban green infrastructure), Sustainable Society
SRI role: Work Pack leads
Bright Sparks
Bright Sparks was a unique funding scheme that supported research into the physical and social aspects of public open space in rural and urban areas. Experts from SRI mentored people and groups to develop ideas and initiatives to use and deploy challenging open spaces and present their work to partner organisations.
Funded by: ERDF
SRI theme: Sustainable Society (sustainable living - community assets)
SRI role: Project partner
London Students Towards Sustainability
Part of UrbanBuzz, this project focused on meeting the skill gaps to deliver sustainable communities in London. SRI was engaged to motivate and support London's university students in contributing to sustainable development.
Client: London Sustainability Exchange
SRI theme: Sustainable Society (community engagement and assets)
Olympic Games Impact Study
SRI worked with a range of partners on an environmental study of the London 2012 Games for the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The aim was to encourage responsible concern for the environment, promote sustainable development in sport and highlight the potential of a positive legacy for London 2012. The resulting report has been used by the IOC and UK government ministers to design and inform a portfolio of post-games regeneration projects,
Client: International Olympic Committee
SRI theme: Sustainable Society (community engagement and assets)
Thames Ward Project - empowering local communities
Thames Ward Project – empowering local communities: the SRI’s social scientists and ecologists developed and delivered a series of initiatives designed to engage marginalised members of the long-standing local community in activities that would empower them to access community infrastructure associated with the new housing development at Barking Riverside and promote social cohesion.
‘Shed Life’ is a community space for men and young volunteers to converse and create, to help reduce loneliness and isolation, by sharing skills and talents through a programme of activities led by local men. Facilitated by the SRI’s social science team, UEL’s architecture department collaborated on the project to design the shed, and architecture students helped prepare a planning application.
The Thames Ward green and blue-space training course comprised a series of modules that introduced participants from the local community to learn about the history and ecology of blue and green spaces in their Ward and to visit sites to help overcome barriers related to accessibility and to explore opportunities for resident activities at the sites.
Client: Barking Riverside Ltd
SRI theme: Sustainable Society (sustainable communities)