The aim of the study is to examine the role of networks of community–based organisations in supporting resilience of urban systems and in reducing risk faced by communities of urban poor. Networks reach across scales - both spatial and institutional - which presents unique opportunities to develop urban governance structures vital for substantial urban risk reduction.

Specific objectives of the study are to:

•          An...

Biological threats, no matter coming from occupational or accidental exposure, pandemic or terrorist attacks can bring great loss of life and suffering. They can also impair or even stop economic activities and society from functioning. Critical and essential infrastructure plays a key role in the sustainability and resilience of the society.

Infrastructure safety and security against these threats are the aim of this research. Working in partnership with Laing O’Rourke, we will...

This project will investigate novel construction techniques for solar thermal towers, with a view to developing strategies for off-site construction and rapid deployment in high-insolation areas.

1. To reduce dependence on fossil fuel sources.
2. To increase the viability of solar thermal towers as a renewable energy generation technology for urban areas across the full spectrum of development....
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We will design a new multi-objective stochastic capacity expansion optimisation framework that considers economic criteria and other performance measures and explicitly evaluates the trade-offs between them.  Optimal infrastructure ‘portfolios’ will be selected according to their performance across a range of measures (social, economic, engineered, ecological).  In this new supply-demand planning paradigm single ‘optimal’ solutio...

The objective of this study is first to examine how and when we consider in urban critical infrastructure Public and Private Partnership (PPP) mechanisms. On the basis of these findings, the work will then analyse, through use of case studies and examples in EU countries, the implementation of a methodology to simulate the stochastic values of investment risks and capture the investor’s flexibility to optimise the short-run and long-run horizons of the investments. The final ai...

Research has shown that it is very likely that changes in climate increased the risk of flood occurrence in England and Wales in autumn 2000. Adaptation of buildings to withstand climate change is therefore crucial. Determining how the existing UK domestic building stock will be affected could play an important role in understanding how to adapt. This in turn would help to ensure the resilience of UK housing in the face of changes in climate.

The aims of the projec...

The project aims to develop a method for assessing the likely damage to critical urban infrastructure caused by earthquakes and consequent disruption, taking into account infrastructure interdependencies. This will require both in depth earthquake engineering investigation of different infrastructure types, as well as the use of systems engineering methods. The study will focus on critical infrastructure in Central Eastern European (CEE) countries, with a number (to be determin...

The increasing pace of urbanisation, along with the necessity to adopt sustainable approaches to urbanisation, presents a need to not only understand the factors and processes that contribute to cities’ capacity to successfully adapt and respond to rapid urban growth, but also to provide a framework for resilient city planning and governance.

Rapid and fast-paced urban growth stretches to its limits the capacity of development authorities to manage change, par...

My PhD research focuses on local authorities and how they encourage pro-environmental behavioural changes in their resident populations. The underlying driver for these behavioural changes is the Climate Change Act (2008). Working in partnership with local authorities within inner London, my research aims to quantify the impact of environmental interventions and to evaluate them objectively, in an effort to understand which interventions work best to generate behavioural changes and deli...

Sustainable Industry

The concerns associated with increasing human activity have fostered a keen interest within the scientific community to redefine...