Places

The Sustainable Places Research Institute is combining experts in buildings, energy systems, rural and urban communities, ecosystems, infrastructure, health, and policy-making in a way which has not been done before, enabling us to address the management and policy needs for integrated place-based solutions, and also to address one of the biggest global questions we face; how can we create sustainable places?

The Research Institute aims to 'model' how changes in local and national infrastructures, individual changes in behaviour and global changes in climate and land-use will affect sustainable practices in the future. Through new scientific approaches it will place stronger emphasis on sustainable living within sustainable Landscapes and City regions by studying the complex and dynamic interrelations between ecosystems, society and economy.

By studying these interactions at local, national and international levels, we place ourselves at the centre of global debates, drawing on existing expertise in the scientific fields of planning, applied social and psychological sciences, business and law, biological and earth sciences, engineering, architecture and health.

Shenzhen, China

We have been working with the China Academy of Urban Planning and Design, Chinese Society for Urban Studies and Shenzhen Institute of Urban Planning and Design on the project: Shenzhen Eco-city Development Indicator System.

Stuttgart, Germany

Affiliates of the Institute are studying the rise of the city-region of Stuttgart in Germany.

Helsinki, Finland

Members of the Institute are studying city-region adaptation and transition in the Greater Helsinki-Region.

Kinabatangan, Borneo

In 2008 the University established a field centre in the Kinabatangan floodplain, Sabah, Borneo.

Turks and Caicos Islands

We are supporting the development of collaborative policy for seagrass conservation, funded by the Darwin Initiative.

Toronto, Canada

We are collaborating on a series of research grants funded by the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture (OMAFRA) and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), involving a wide range of stakeholders and academics from across the Province.

Wakatobi National Park, Indonesia

Outputs from our work in Wakatobi are being used to drive forward discussions on evidence based marine protected area management.

Brecon Beacons National Park

The University has signed a strategic partnership agreement with the National Park Authority, this guides our work on research priorities in the National Park