Transforming the Engineering of Cities to Deliver Societal and Planetary Wellbeing

Completed

Energy Efficiency(Residential and commercial)
Not Energy Related
Other Cross-Cutting Technologies or Research(Environmental, social and economic impacts)

Basic and strategic applied research

SOCIAL SCIENCES (Sociology)
ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY (Civil Engineering)
ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY (Architecture and the Built Environment)
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES (Earth Systems and Environmental Sciences)

Sociological economical and environmental impact of energy (Environmental dimensions)
Sociological economical and environmental impact of energy (Policy and regulation)
Sociological economical and environmental impact of energy (Consumer attitudes and behaviour)
Sociological economical and environmental impact of energy (Technology acceptance)

Professor CDF Rogers
Infra. Engineering & Management
University of Birmingham

Standard

EPSRC

01 May 2012

31 December 2017

68 months

£6,324,861

Civil eng. & built environment

West Midlands

NC : Engineering

Professor CDF Rogers, Infra. Engineering & Management, University of Birmingham

Professor AS Bahaj, Faculty of Engineering and the Environment, University of Southampton
Professor B Collins, Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering, University College London
Professor R Cooper, Lancaster Institute for the Contemporary Arts, Lancaster University
Professor N Dunn, Lancaster Institute for the Contemporary Arts, Lancaster University
Professor JC Falkingham, School of Social Sciences, University of Southampton
Dr PAB James, Faculty of Engineering and the Environment, University of Southampton
Dr H Joffe, Psychology, University College London
Dr F Medda, Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering, University College London
Dr JP Sadler, Sch of Geography, Earth & Env Sciences, University of Birmingham
Professor N Tyler, Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering, University College London
Distinguished Professor J Urry, Sociology, Lancaster University

Dr M Boyko, Lancaster Institute for the Contemporary Arts, Lancaster University
Dr MM Buchs, School of Social Sciences, University of Southampton
Dr R Lombardi, International Synergies Limited

Project Contact, Lancaster City Council
Project Contact, Wilkinson Eyre Architects
Project Contact, Lancaster University
Project Contact, Institute for Sustainability
Project Contact, University of Southampton
Project Contact, Isle of Wight Council
Project Contact, Ove Arup & Partners Ltd
Project Contact, E.ON UK (formerly PowerGen)
Project Contact, University of Surrey
Project Contact, Marine Scotland Science
Project Contact, Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG)
Project Contact, SDRC Consulting Ltd
Project Contact, University of Birmingham
Project Contact, Southampton City Council
Project Contact, Goddard Wybor Practice GWP Ltd
Project Contact, Strategy Plus (formerly DEGW)
Project Contact, Chadwick Crawford Consultancy Ltd (CCC)
Project Contact, Costain Ltd
Project Contact, Baker Tilly
Project Contact, The Work Foundation
Project Contact, Geotechnics Ltd
Project Contact, Halcrow Group Ltd
Project Contact, University of East London
Project Contact, Grontmij UK
Project Contact, Environmental Sustainability KTN
Project Contact, Network Rail Ltd
Project Contact, UK Water Industry Research Ltd
Project Contact, British Geological Survey
Project Contact, University College London
Project Contact, Glasgow Clyde College
Project Contact, Anglo-European College of Chiropractic
Project Contact, Macclesfield College of Further and Higher Education
Project Contact, Ramkhamhaeng University
Project Contact, Cofely District Energy Ltd

There is irrefutable evidence that the climate is changing. There also is strong evidence that this is largely a result of human activity, driven by our insatiable consumption of resources, growing populations, unsustainable migration patterns and rapid overdevelopment in cities that are resulting in heavy ecosystem services losses. Humankind's solutions to these problems do not always work, as many rely upon quantities of resources that simply do not exist or that could not support the rate of change that we are facing, behaviour changes that sit uneasily with our current consumption patterns and quality of life aspirations, and government policies that emphasise long-term sustainable gain but potential short-term economic loss for businesses and local people.A radical revisioning of the problem is needed, not only to reverse current trends, but also to contribute positively to the sustainability and wellbeing of the planet, now and in the future. This proposal is that radical new vision, adopting a 'whole of government' focus to the changes needed in the ways that societies live, work, play and consume, balancing social aspirations against the necessary changes, and using CO2 emissions as a proxy measurement for the harm being done to the planet and the resources (particularly energy) that we use. Through the development of a city analysis methodology; engineering design criteria for quality of life and wellbeing; engineering design criteria for low carbon pathways and; radical engineering approaches, strategies and visioning-all generated in a multidisciplinary context-we aim to deliver a range of engineering solutions that are effective in sustaining civilised life, in an affordable and socially acceptable style.Our vision is to transform the engineering of cities to deliver societal and planetary wellbeing within the context of low carbon living and resource security. We seek to prove that an alternative future with drastically reduced CO2 emissions is achievable in a socially acceptable manner, and to develop realistic and radical engineering solutions to achieve it. Certain techno-fixes for a low-carbon society have been known for some time (e.g., installing low energy appliances in homes), but are not always deemed successful, in part because they have not been deemed socially acceptable. Current aspirations for material consumption are driven by social factors and reinforced by social norms, yet recent research shows that meeting these aspirations often does not enhance wellbeing. Thus, the challenge the research community faces is to co-evolve the techno-fixes with people's aspirations, incorporating radical engineering strategies within the financial, policy/regulation and technical contexts, to re-define an alternative future. A roadmap is required to chart the path from here to there, identify potential tipping points and determine how to integrate radical engineering strategies into norms. However, this roadmap canonly be considered once that alternative future has been established, and a 'back-casting' exercise carried out, to explore where the major barriers to change lie and where interventions are needed.Our ambition is to create an holistic, integrated, truly multidisciplinary city analysis methodology that uniquely combines engineered solutions and quality-of-life indicators, accounts for social aspirations, is founded on an evidence base of trials of radical interventions in cities, and delivers the radical engineering solutions necessary to achieve our vision. We seek to achieve this ambition by using a variety of innovative and traditional approaches and methods to undertake five research challenges, which are outlined in detail in five technical annexes

01/06/12