Research Projects
Our cutting edge research projects address key issues in sustainable innovation and build on our multi-disciplinary expertise.
Current research projects
Funders: Barking Riverside Ltd,
SRI Theme: Urban Green Infrastructure
SRI Role: Site constructing, testing and monitoring
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 that 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, is 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 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
Funded by: Buglife, Natural England, Essex County Council
SRI Theme: Invertebrate conservation
SRI Role: Research expertise, advice and monitoring
Undertaken in partnership with lead partners Argand Solutions Ltd, the project’s key deliverable is a real-time software interface and API that will enable commercial / industrial building clients to determine which electrical assets they must direct maintenance resource at in order to mitigate the value at risk from not engaging in proactive maintenance. The initial software system developed will be trialled at UEL’s Sports Doc building
Funded by Innovate UK and the EPSRC’s “Building Whole Life Performance” competition, BARM is an 18 month project due to complete in June 2017.
Funded by: Innovate UK
SRI Theme: Energy Efficiency
SRI Role: Research on renewable energy building assets. Lead on dissemination and exploitation
For more information about BARM, click here.
Funded by: Veolia Pitsea and Canvey Marshes Trust and Essex County Council
SRI Theme: Invertebrate conservation
SRI Role: Research lead
Funded by: Via Life+
SRI Theme: Urban Green Infrastructure
SRI Role: Lead overall environmental monitoring programme.
For more information click here.
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) who
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 is 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, sustainability 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
Paula Vandergert, 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.
For more information click here.
At the heart of the pilot plant is a testing and mixing facility and a highly efficient rotary kiln which enables a variety of waste bi products to be converted into manufactured inert aggregates that can, for example, be used as substrate for green rooftops or as local building materials.
Funded by: Via Interreg NW IV project C2C Bizz
SRI Theme: Waste and circular economy
SRI Role: Development and operation of C2C pilot plant at LSIP
Find out more about this project.
SRI Theme: Peatland conservation
SRI Role: Lead on site monitoring
Funded by: Environment Agency
SRI Theme: Urban Green Infrastructure
SRI Role: Lead on ecosystem service monitoring
For more information about Renfrew Gardens click here.
- climate change adaptation and mitigation
- natural resources shortage;
- unsustainable urban growth.
TURAS is enabling adaptive governance, collaborative decision-making and behavioural change in order to facilitate local authorities and communities in the transition process. Bringing together a wide variety for partners and stakeholders the project aims to demonstrate and disseminate transition strategies and scenarios to enable European cities and their rural interfaces to build vitally-needed resilience.
Working in collaboration with local authorities, SMEs, statutory agencies, NGOs and local communities, SRI staff are leading TURAS research in the areas of Urban Green Infrastructure, Community Interest Companies and Adaptive Governance.
Funded by: EU Framework Programme 7
SRI Theme: Urban Green Infrastructure and Adaptive Governance
SRI Role: Work package lead on urban green infrastructure and research lead on adaptive governance
View Dr. Stuart Connop's presentation from TURAS final conference in Dublin. For more information about TURAS, click here.
Funder: UEL Facilities and Estates
SRI Theme: Urban Green Infrastructure
SRI Role: Project lead
Previous research projects
Funder: Buglife via London Pleasure Gardens
SRI Theme: Invertebrate conservation
SRI Role: Site development and sponsor
fibre insulation solution, suitable for new build and retrofit projects.
Funded by: TSB and EPSRC
SRI Theme: Materials engineering
SRI Role: Project partner
Funded by: ERDF
SRI Theme: Sustainable living – community assets
SRI Role: Project partner
SRI Role: Project lead
Funded by: ERDF
SRI Theme: Energy efficiency
SRI Role: Project partner
Funded by: Challenge Funds
SRI Theme: Urban Green Infrastructure
SRI Role: Project sponsor and lead