Working Lives Research Institute
An inter-departmental collaboration at London Metropolitan University has secured a major research grant from the European Union (EU). A partnership between Allan Williams of the Working Lives Research Institute (WLRI), Graeme Evans of the Cities Institute, and Graham Walters from London Metropolitan Business School (LMBS) successfully bid for the grant of 845,000 Euros.
Together they will provide the UK element in an 8 country, 6 million Euro project to study the impact of urbanisation and human mobility on coastal environments. SECOA – Solutions for Environmental Contrasts in Urban Areas is funded under the EU’s Research Directorate-General as part of its Framework 7 research programme, under the Environment and Climate Change theme. The other partner countries are Belgium, Italy, Portugal, Sweden, India and Vietnam.
This timely and high profile research project will examine climate change and sea level impacts, as well as the impact of increased growth and mobility on the social and natural environment in the Thames Gateway and Portsmouth regions.
The project has three main stages. First, the key relationships will be identified between changes in social and natural environments, in terms of sea level changes, migration and population changes, shifts in transport use and increased demand for homes and recreational spaces. Allan Williams of WLRI explained: ‘this work provides a comprehensive stock taking of where we are in terms of the pressure points on both built and natural environments – where the warning lights are flashing in terms of threats to how we live in major cities in the UK and elsewhere’.
The second stage will outline different scenarios that address both how urban areas will have to adapt to changes in the natural environment, as well as how urbanisation, growth and new forms of mobility will shape environmental changes and sustainability. ‘This the most exciting aspect of the project, as it brings together a range of expertise to address some of the biggest challenges faced by modern societies’, said Graeme Evans of Cities Institute. ‘What are the options in terms of, for example, balancing conservation and the economic and social changes which are transforming major cities in such diverse ways?’
The third stage involves identifying policies and good practices that will allow for more effective co-management of the natural and social environments. London Metropolitan Business School’s Graham Walters considers this to be the biggest challenge of all: ‘This project is not just about scientific research; it’s also about finding new ways to make a difference. It asks fundamental questions about what more sustainable futures might look like for everyone who lives in or uses these cities, and aims to signpost some of the possible pathways to those futures’.
The Working Lives Research Institute will manage overall project co-ordination with the Cities Institute providing expertise in analysing socio-economic data and GIS techniques. London Metropolitan Business School will manage the analysis of natural systems and coastal zone management. Being able to draw on a wide range of international expertise will be crucial to this work, particularly at a time when climate change potentially threatens to rewrite the rules of the game for policy makers.
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Working Lives Research Institute (WLRI)
The Working Lives Research Institute is a centre for research and teaching, based at London Metropolitan University. WLRI undertake socially committed academic and applied research into all aspects of working lives, emphasising equality and social justice, and working for and in partnership with trade unions.
Cities Institute
The Cities Institute at London Metropolitan University undertakes research into urban society in its human, physical and economic dimensions. The insitute's work takes an integrated and inter-disciplinary approach to the concepts, policies and practices that help explain and influence the success of particular cities and urban quality of life.
London Metropolitan Business School (LMBS)
LMBS is located in the centre of London and in the heart of the City - one of the world’s major financial centres and home to global banking corporations and trading centres. An exciting initiative from London Metropolitan University, LMBS is one of the largest in this area of study in the UK and has achieved excellence in teaching and research.
For further information please contact:
Irene Constantinides
PR Officer
Telephone: 020 7320 2346
Internal ext: (69) 2346
Email: i.constantinides@londonmet.ac.uk
23 February 2010
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