Tom Wild from the University of Sheffield’s School of Architecture and Landscape has secured NERC funding for a major new research and innovation project through its Maximising UK Adaptation to Climate Change programme.
- Tailored interventions could help safeguard the country's most vulnerable neighbourhoods from local climate challenges
- Residents will be given practical, DIY solutions to empower local communities
- Monitoring tools will measure the impact of these solutions on key environmental factors such as air quality, temperature, and water flow
The project, DIY Greening Prescription for Climate Adaptation in Urban Streets (GP4Streets), is backed by £2 million from the Natural Environment Research Council.
Tom and the project team will install monitoring equipment in target neighbourhoods, to take baseline measurements of key environmental factors. Residents will then be given a “prescription” that is specific to the climate issues they face locally, and support to implement greening efforts, such as planting trees and installing green walls. The impact of these efforts will be measured in order to help fine-tune climate adaptation strategies for UK streets.
The University of Sheffield is collaborating with experts from four other institutions: University of Surrey, UWE Bristol, the University of Bath, and Imperial College London. Nine local councils, charities, and industry partners are also on board to support the rollout and scaling up of these green solutions across UK towns and cities.
I’m delighted to be working with local authorities and other stakeholders to co-produce research and innovation addressing their priorities, to tackle the climate and ecological emergencies, and improve health and wellbeing. These partners have said this is a fantastic opportunity to enhance capabilities to develop their adaptation strategies and optimise green infrastructure interventions.
We will work closely together to assess their impacts in solving societal challenges. In particular it is great to be working at the local neighbourhood level in densely populated city-centre locations to retrofit nature-based solutions and help restore urban biodiversity."
Tom Wild
Lecturer in the School of Architecture and Landscape