New routes to urban sustainability.

The main aim of this programme is to bring engineering, planning and design expertise together with physical, mathematical and computer science to address pressing issues of urban sustainability. The exact nature of the research problems to be addressed will be one of the outcomes of the programme, but potential issues include:

• interactions between building design and infrastructure provision, particularly in relation to energy, water and waste;
  
  
• new applications of systems and process modelling tools across engineering disciplines to enhance design and management of sustainable urban infrastructure;
  
  
• application of advanced spatial analysis techniques in designing accessible urban spaces;
  
  
• analysing local scale climate change predictions in urban environments and identifying scope for adaptation and mitigation;
  
  
• developing software to enhance public participation in decision making about local scale climate change scenarios and planning and design for adaptation;
  
  
• developing fundamental science and applications for embedded sensor technology in building services and structural monitoring of buildings to increase the intelligence of building systems and to extend the lifetime of structures;
  
  
• application of recent advances in fluid dynamics and physics to the design and management of building ventilation to reduce energy demands;
  
  
• use of advanced statistical techniques in analysing the impacts of local scale climate change and weather events on urban systems;
  
  
• mathematical analysis of non-linear, complex urban systems and phenomena, including local climate systems;
  
  
• distributed energy and water systems, and human mobility.