Can Urban Local Ponds Help Tackle Domestic Water Scarcity and Build Resilience?
Ripin Kalra
For decades to come, cost-effective and environmentally-appropriate water systems will be a priority for managing water scarcity and building resilience in the rapidly expanding cities and city regions of South Asia. Many large cities in South Asia are meeting their growing demands for water by transferring it thousands of miles each day. This study initiates research into urban local ponds and the potential of linking them with water systems to build resilience.
Health, Wellbeing and the City Post-COVID-19
Krystallia Kamvasinou, Rachel Aldred, and Nina Smyth (Psychology, School of Social Sciences)
Our team first came together to investigate the ‘Reuse of urban transport infrastructures as green space for people’s wellbeing’ when we received seed funding from the University of Westminster’s Sustainable Cities and Urban Environment’s Research Community in December 2019. Our project would look into unusual types of green space that have been produced as a result of the abandonment of railway lines or other types of transport infrastructure, and survey their reuse as green spaces/trails for wellbeing-related activities, including active travel and physical fitness, recreation, relaxation and contact with nature. However, as we were getting ready to proceed with fieldwork, COVID-19 hit. Instead of abandoning the research, we decided to take it online, adjusting its scope to an evolving situation.
Globally-Informed City Climate Pedagogy and Practice: Decolonising urban and architectural curricula for effective climate actions
Giulio Verdini
Innovative forms of climate pedagogy are emerging in urban and architectural curricula across the world. They are more considered of notions of ‘inclusion’ and ‘diversity’, and, at the same time, more inclined to incorporate climate resiliency at the core. This research aims to understand how architects and urban planners should be educated to tackle climate change effectively by adopting a de-colonial perspective.