Establishing Transport for London's first evidence-based approach to strategic green infrastructure for improved roadside air quality & public health
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Birmingham
Department Name: Sch of Geography, Earth & Env Sciences
Abstract
The overarching aim of this Innovation Placement at Transport for London (TfL) is to establish its first evidence-based approach to the use of strategic green infrastructure (GI) to improve roadside air quality (RAQ). TfL and its Chair, the Mayor of London, are committed to their Healthy Streets Approach, putting people and their health at the centre of design decisions. GI (i.e., trees, hedges and green walls) and 'clean air' are already integral to this, the latter one of its key indicators. However, TfL currently lacks an evidence-based method of using one in pursuit of the other: i.e., site-specific GI interventions to reduce the public's exposure to road transport emissions - strongly complementing TfL's existing efforts to reduce exposure (e.g. careful positioning of bus stops) and reduce emissions at source (e.g. electrification of buses). The impacts of GI on RAQ, be they positive or negative, depend critically on site-specific conditions, including: street geometry, existing RAQ at the base of the 'street canyon' and average air quality (AQ) aloft - as well as type, size and positioning of GI.
The Placement will establish a robust approach to 'GI4RAQ' interventions to deliver reliable improvements in RAQ, initially based on qualitative ranking. Exploiting TfL's extensive Geographic Information System (GIS), the approach will also prepare for the application of a quantitative GI4RAQ platform (begun via a NERC Innovation Pathfinder; NE/S00582X/1) to numerous sites. The Placement will do so from within the organisation, ensuring compatibility with existing decision-making practices, through close collaboration between the Researcher and:
- Yvonne Brown, Principal Policy Analyst for Air Quality and Climate Change at TfL
- John Parker, Arboriculture and Landscape Manager at TfL & Chair of the London Tree Officers Association
- Lucy Saunders, Developer of the Healthy Streets Approach & Lead for Integration of Transport and Public Health in London at TfL / GLA.
The Greater London Authority (GLA) governs transport, policing, economic development and emergency planning across the capital. It created TfL to deliver its transport services. The LoS evidence strong support from both:
- Lilli Matson, Director of Transport Strategy at TfL, and
- Peter Massini, Lead for Green Infrastructure at the GLA
The Placement will further develop the Researcher's relationships with TfL and the GLA (and those of the University of Birmingham; UoB) he initiated through the Pathfinder, as 'Co-I/Researcher'. Links to the GLA offer a unique opportunity to influence policy: the Local Plan of each London borough council must conform with the GLA's London Plan; and local authorities across the UK look to it for the direction of travel as they develop their Local Plans. Peter Massini outlines in his LoS how the Placement's outputs will contribute to the next London Plan (due to be published 6 later), particularly a proposed 'Air Quality Positive' policy. An established relationship between the UoB and Birmingham City Council (valued in the Pathfinder and underpinning an upcoming NERC RISE programme focussed on West Midlands AQ) will ensure the approach to GI4RAQ in London is directly transferrable to Birmingham.
The UoB has a long and mature track record in urban AQ research, including the soon-to-be commissioned Urban Air Observatory, funded through a NERC capital grant, and current international NERC-funded research programmes in India and China (NE/P016499/1 & NE/N007077/1). Throughout its AQ research, the UoB has sought to translate results into solutions-focused, decision-support for practitioners and policy-makers, such as its recent 'First Steps in Urban Air Quality' guide (http://epapers.bham.ac.uk/3069/) and the award-winning AIRUSE LIFE+ programme output (http://airuse.eu/). This proposal builds on further NERC funding (CLAIRE-UK, NE/I012567/1 & CityFlocks, NE/N003195/1) and ERC funding (FASTER; ERC-2012-AdG32082).
The Placement will establish a robust approach to 'GI4RAQ' interventions to deliver reliable improvements in RAQ, initially based on qualitative ranking. Exploiting TfL's extensive Geographic Information System (GIS), the approach will also prepare for the application of a quantitative GI4RAQ platform (begun via a NERC Innovation Pathfinder; NE/S00582X/1) to numerous sites. The Placement will do so from within the organisation, ensuring compatibility with existing decision-making practices, through close collaboration between the Researcher and:
- Yvonne Brown, Principal Policy Analyst for Air Quality and Climate Change at TfL
- John Parker, Arboriculture and Landscape Manager at TfL & Chair of the London Tree Officers Association
- Lucy Saunders, Developer of the Healthy Streets Approach & Lead for Integration of Transport and Public Health in London at TfL / GLA.
The Greater London Authority (GLA) governs transport, policing, economic development and emergency planning across the capital. It created TfL to deliver its transport services. The LoS evidence strong support from both:
- Lilli Matson, Director of Transport Strategy at TfL, and
- Peter Massini, Lead for Green Infrastructure at the GLA
The Placement will further develop the Researcher's relationships with TfL and the GLA (and those of the University of Birmingham; UoB) he initiated through the Pathfinder, as 'Co-I/Researcher'. Links to the GLA offer a unique opportunity to influence policy: the Local Plan of each London borough council must conform with the GLA's London Plan; and local authorities across the UK look to it for the direction of travel as they develop their Local Plans. Peter Massini outlines in his LoS how the Placement's outputs will contribute to the next London Plan (due to be published 6 later), particularly a proposed 'Air Quality Positive' policy. An established relationship between the UoB and Birmingham City Council (valued in the Pathfinder and underpinning an upcoming NERC RISE programme focussed on West Midlands AQ) will ensure the approach to GI4RAQ in London is directly transferrable to Birmingham.
The UoB has a long and mature track record in urban AQ research, including the soon-to-be commissioned Urban Air Observatory, funded through a NERC capital grant, and current international NERC-funded research programmes in India and China (NE/P016499/1 & NE/N007077/1). Throughout its AQ research, the UoB has sought to translate results into solutions-focused, decision-support for practitioners and policy-makers, such as its recent 'First Steps in Urban Air Quality' guide (http://epapers.bham.ac.uk/3069/) and the award-winning AIRUSE LIFE+ programme output (http://airuse.eu/). This proposal builds on further NERC funding (CLAIRE-UK, NE/I012567/1 & CityFlocks, NE/N003195/1) and ERC funding (FASTER; ERC-2012-AdG32082).
Publications
MacKenzie A
(2019)
Urban form strongly mediates the allometric scaling of airshed pollution concentrations
in Environmental Research Letters
Greater London Authority
(2019)
Using Green Infrastructure to Protect People from Air Pollution
Churchman Thornhill Finch
(2022)
Feasibility Study Report, 'Eastville Junction: A Green Place - A Cool Place'
| Description | This NERC Innovation Placement comprised a secondment to Transport for London (TfL); I have therefore outlined its aims and scientific/research context in SECONDMENTS, PLACEMENTS [..] . Meanwhile, constituting a combination of Knowledge Transfer (building evidence-based understanding) and Translation (i.e., from academic research into public-sector policy and practice), I will summarise the Placement's outputs here in KEY FINDINGS, and their impacts to date in NARRATIVE IMPACT. OUTPUTS: 1. Evidence-based guidance, and complementary differential diagnostics approach, to the use of 'Green Infrastructure for Roadside Air Quality' (GI4RAQ). Together, these decision-support resources constitute TfL's first evidence-based approach to strategic green infrastructure for improved roadside air quality and public health. The 60 page guide provides a full (and fully referenced) evidence base for site-specific GI4RAQ interventions: i.e., the introduction of vegetation barriers in appropriate locations to reduce roadside exposure to road transport pollution - the main source of urban air pollution in the UK. It includes 11 Case Studies in Greater London, where (essential) emission reductions are not projected to have sufficient leverage, or sufficiently rapid leverage, in alleviating the local public health impacts of vehicular pollution. It is in areas like these that GI4RAQ can provide a valuable complement in further reducing public exposure - and further improving public health. The Case Studies were also used to identify site-specific practical constraints on implementation: e.g., preservation of safety-critical sight lines and vision splays; proximity to underground and overground services and utilities; and provision of access at the kerb to bus stops and stands, taxi ranks and so forth. Practicable, as well as effective, GI4RAQ interventions are needed. The accompanying differential diagnostics approach, or GI4RAQ Decision Tree, enables its users to identify: the nature of the street, or stretch of street, in which they wish to reduce public exposure; the types, and positioning, of 'robustly beneficial' GI4RAQ interventions (e.g., subject to the right conditions of wind and urban form, a dense 2m-tall hedge at the downwind kerb); and the types, and positioning, of interventions that could deliver appreciable benefits in one part of a street's cross section (e.g. a school playground immediately adjacent to a busy road) at an acknowledged cost to others (e.g. passers-by on the pavement between the playground and the road). Altering the distribution of pollution close to source, by altering the flow of polluted air, vegetation barriers have the potential to increase as well as decrease local exposure - often increasing in one location whilst decreasing in another. Site-specific interventions for net public health improvement are called for. I submitted the final drafts of these resources to TfL for internal review in July 2019 and, following very positive feedback, was invited to present them to representatives of the 31 London Boroughs (and the City of London) at an Urban Design London event on 30th January 2020, 'Improving London's Air Quality'. Following a further meeting with TfL on 5th March 2020, I have been granted permission to share the resources with appropriate academics at further UK institutes; I suggested that independent, expert peer review would be valuable before we make the resources publicly available. NB The intention from the start has been to develop resources suitable for further regional transport-delivery bodies in combined-authority structures (e.g. Transport for Greater Manchester under the auspices of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority) for national impact. 2. Shorter, simpler guidance aimed at local authorities, 'Using Green Infrastructure to Protect People from Air Pollution', published by the Greater London Authority (GLA). The 20 page guide addresses only the 'end members' of the spectrum of streets encountered in the urban environment (i.e., 'open roads' and 'street canyons') and offers much less detailed - and less nuanced - advice than 1. above. It does, however, move the discourse surrounding the influence of vegetation on urban air quality forwards in line with the Air Quality Expert Group's (2018)** report to DEFRA and the devolved authorities: from widespread, but erroneous, beliefs that vegetation can efficiently remove pollution; to an appreciation of the potential public health benefits, under the right conditions, of vegetation barriers between polluting vehicles and people. The guide also introduces its readers to the notion that the greatest benefits to population-wide public health may not come from interventions where the concentrations of pollutants are highest, per se, but where the concentrations of pollutants, the number and vulnerability of people exposed, and the duration for which they are exposed combine to have greatest health impacts. ** https://uk-air.defra.gov.uk/assets/documents/reports/cat09/1807251306_180509_Effects_of_vegetation_on_urban_air_pollution_v12_final.pdf I was invited to lead the writing of this guidance on behalf of the GLA whilst on secondment to TfL. It was published online with the Mayor of London's endorsement in April 2019: see https://www.london.gov.uk/WHAT-WE-DO/environment/environment-publications/using-green-infrastructure-protect-people-air-pollution . |
| Exploitation Route | Using the Placement as a platform for wider engagement, I have developed a UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship bid to build regional capacities to reduce exposure to road transport pollution across the Liverpool City Region, Greater Manchester and West Yorkshire combined authority regions - in addition to Greater London. To date, I have secured letters of support from the following 21 high profile organisations: - Greater London Authority: Peter Massini, Lead for Green Infrastructure - Transport for London: Richard McGreevy, Transport Strategy and Planning Manager - Liverpool City Region Combined Authority: Gideon Ben-Tovim OBE, Mayoral Advisor for Natural Environment - Greater Manchester Combined Authority: Mark Atherton, Assistant Director of Environment - Transport for Greater Manchester: Lynda Stefek, Senior Manager for Air Quality and Environment - West Yorkshire Combined Authority: Susan Hinchcliffe, Chair of West Yorkshire Combined Authority; and Roger Marsh OBE, Chair of Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership - Grosvenor Ltd: Steven Connolly, Estate Director for Liverpool ONE - Salford City Council: Chris Findley, Assistant Director for Planning - University of Salford: Andrew Clark, Lecturer in Environmental Management - Manchester City Council: Dave Barlow, Senior Policy Officer & Lead for Green Infrastructure and Biodiversity - RHS Garden Bridgewater: Claire Drury, North West Regional Development Manager for RHS - Bradford City Council: Saira Ali, Team Leader for Landscape, Design and Conservation - University of Leeds: Cat Scott, Academic Fellow & Director of the Leeds Ecosystem, Atmosphere and Forest Centre - The Community Forest Trust: Iain Taylor, Chair - The Mersey Forest: Paul Nolan OBE, Director - Manchester City of Trees: Pete Stringer, Technical & Green Infrastructure Planning Manager - White Rose Forest: Prof Alan Simson, Chair of White Rose Forest Steering Group - AECOM: James Richer, Global Air Quality Practice Director - Royal Horticultural Association: Mark Gush, Head of Environmental Horticulture - The Woodland Trust: Joseph Coles, Urban Programme Lead - The Arboricultural Association: John Parker, Technical Director |
| Sectors | Construction,Environment,Healthcare,Transport |
| URL | https://www.london.gov.uk/WHAT-WE-DO/environment/environment-publications/using-green-infrastructure-protect-people-air-pollution |
| Description | 1. The resulting evidence-based 'Green Infrastructure for Roadside Air Quality' (GI4RAQ) Guide and Decision Tree (a differential diagnostics approach to site-specific interventions to alter pollution dispersion close to source for reduced roadside exposure; responsive to local conditions of wind and urban form) have been: - Signed off by Transport for London (TfL): co-authored by TfL's Principal Policy Analyst for Air Quality and Climate Change, Yvonne Brown. - Fully integrated into TfL's operational Environmental Evaluation Tool; routinely applied to all road/public-realm improvement schemes up to one hectare in size. - Made publicly available with TfL's consent in 2021 (following return to regular operations in the wake of COVID-19): https://doi.org/10.25500/epapers.bham.00003398 Full reference: Levine, J. G., Y. Brown, and A. R. MacKenzie, 2021. Green Infrastructure for Roadside Air Quality (GI4RAQ) Guidance & Decision Tree: An evidence-based approach to reducing roadside exposure to road transport pollution. Developed by the Birmingham Institute of Forest Research, University of Birmingham, and Transport for London. DOI: https://doi.org/10.25500/epapers.bham.00003398 2. The PI also led the writing, on behalf of the Greater London Authority, of much simpler guidance for local authorities (whilst developing 1. above): 'Using Green Infrastructure to Protect People from Air Pollution'. Members of the University of Surrey's Global Centre for Clean Air Research also contributed. Published in April 2019, this guidance: - Remains the most viewed Greater London Authority environmental publication. - Received 914 unique views in the first 11 months (between 1st April 2019 and 4th March 2020). - Was actively shared by London's Deputy Mayor for Transport, Heidi Alexander, and Deputy Mayor for Environment & Energy, Shirley Rodrigues, with the 31 London boroughs. Full reference: Greater London Authority, 2019. Using Green Infrastructure to Protect People from Air Pollution. Written in consultation with the Birmingham Institute of Forest Research, University of Birmingham, the Global Centre for Clean Air Research, University of Surrey, and Transport for London. Available online: https://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/green_infrastruture_air_pollution_may_19.pdf (accessed on 16th March 2022) 3. This NERC Innovation Placement, coupled with a previous NERC Innovation Pathfinder (NE/S00582X/1), formed the basis of a successful NERC Innovation Project application (NE/S013814/1) to develop the prototype GI4RAQ Platform: the first software enabling a wide range of urban practitioners (i.e., not limited to air quality experts) to estimate quantitatively the site-specific impacts of green (and grey) infrastructure roadside barriers on local exposure to road transport pollution via changes in pollutant dispersion. - GI4RAQ Platform freely available at: https://www.GI4RAQ.ac.uk - GI4RAQ open-source air quality code available at: https://github.com/GI4RAQ/GI4RAQ-open - GI4RAQ Platform and air quality code fully documented and tested in a peer-reviewed paper in the open-access MDPI journal, Forests - see below. Full reference: Pearce, H., J. G. Levine (joint first author), X. Cai, and A. R. MacKenzie, 2021. Introducing the Green Infrastructure for Roadside Air Quality (GI4RAQ) Platform: Estimating Site-Specific Changes in the Dispersion of Vehicular Pollution Close to Source. Forests 2021, 12, 769. https://doi.org/10.3390/f12060769 |
| First Year Of Impact | 2019 |
| Sector | Construction,Environment,Healthcare,Transport |
| Impact Types | Societal,Policy & public services |
| Description | Advisory Group Member for The Mersey Forest Plan 2025 |
| Geographic Reach | Local/Municipal/Regional |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| URL | https://www.merseyforest.org.uk/news/revisiting-the-mersey-forest-plan/ |
| Description | INVITED 'EXPERT WITNESS' - Peterborough City Council Growth, Environment & Resources Scrutiny Committee - Mar 19 |
| Geographic Reach | Local/Municipal/Regional |
| Policy Influence Type | Implementation circular/rapid advice/letter to e.g. Ministry of Health |
| Impact | Peterborough City Council's 'Scrutiny Task and Finish Group to Inform the Development of an Air Quality Ambition Statement and Action Plan' included the following recommendation - a direct quote - in their report published 8th January 2020 (available to download from the the URL provided below): 'Recommendation 7: Identify opportunities to install or maximise the benefits of green infrastructure to provide barriers between people and emissions.' |
| URL | https://democracy.peterborough.gov.uk/documents/s40703/6.%20Appendix%20A%20-%20Report%20of%20the%20T... |
| Description | INVITED CO-AUTHOR - Revised Trees & Design Action Group Guide, 'First Steps in Air Quality for Built Environment Practitioners' - Jan 19 |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| URL | http://epapers.bham.ac.uk/3069/ |
| Description | INVITED LEAD WRITER - Greater London Authority Guidance, 'Using Green Infrastructure to Protect People from Air Pollution' - Apr 19 |
| Geographic Reach | Local/Municipal/Regional |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Impact | I was invited to lead the writing of this guidance whilst developing Transport for London's first evidence-based approach to 'Green Infrastructure for Roadside Air Quality' (GI4RAQ) via a 6 month secondment funded by a NERC Innovation Placement grant. The guidance was published online by the Greater London Authority (GLA), with the Mayor of London's endorsement, at the following URL in April 2019: https://www.london.gov.uk/WHAT-WE-DO/environment/environment-publications/using-green-infrastructure-protect-people-air-pollution The GLA report that this web page is the ***most viewed page of its Environment Publications*** section in the period, 1st April 2019 - 4th March 2020, and the guidance ***PDF has been downloaded by 914 unique viewers***. In addition: Heidi Alexander, London's Deputy Mayor for Transport, and Shirley Rodrigues, London's Deputy Mayor for Environment & Energy, have actively shared the guidance with a wide range of stakeholders, including the council leaders in 31 London Boroughs; and an increasing number of community projects are referencing the guidance (see, e.g., the 'Great West Hedge' at https://www.greatwesthedge.org/page/hedges). |
| URL | https://www.london.gov.uk/WHAT-WE-DO/environment/environment-publications/using-green-infrastructure... |
| Description | INVITED REVIEWER - Draft Lancashire County Council Public Health Advisory Note, 'Green Infrastructure and Roadside Air Quality' (about to be published) - Oct 19 |
| Geographic Reach | Local/Municipal/Regional |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Description | Interviewed for, and reviewed, POSTnote on 'Urban Outdoor Air Quality' |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to a national consultation/review |
| URL | https://post.parliament.uk/research-briefings/post-pn-0691/ |
| Description | LEAD AUTHOR - Transport for London Draft Guidance & Differential-Diagnostics Approach, 'Green Infrastructure for Roadside Air Quality' - Jul 19 |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Impact | I led the writing of this guidance, and development of a complementary differential diagnostics approach, via a 6 month secondment to Transport for London (TfL) funded by a NERC Innovation Placement grant. These resources form TfL's first evidence-based approach to 'Green Infrastructure for Roadside Air Quality'. I submitted the final versions of these resources to TfL for internal review in July 2019 and, following very positive feedback, was invited to present them to representatives of the 31 London Boroughs (and the City of London) at an Urban Design London event on 30th January 2020, 'Improving London's Air Quality'. Following a further meeting with TfL on 5th March 2020, I have been granted permission to share these resources with appropriate academics at further UK institutes; I suggested that independent, expert peer review would be valuable before we make the resources publicly available. NB The intention from the start was to develop resources suitable for further regional transport-delivery bodies in combined-authority structures, such as Transport for Greater Manchester under the auspices of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority. Their influence will thereby be national in extent. Meanwhile, TfL has integrated the resources (or references thereto) into its operational Environmental Evaluation Tool - applied to all schemes up to one hectare in size - and is in the process of integrating them into its Health Streets approach. |
| Description | "UK" Green Infrastructure for roadside air quality mitigation: unblocking a UK policy impasse |
| Amount | £120,675 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | NE/S013814/1 |
| Organisation | Natural Environment Research Council |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 04/2019 |
| End | 03/2020 |
| Description | NERC Discipline Hopping Block Grant: 'Proof-of-concept Urban Forest Digital Twin for improved Air Quality and Public Health (for a NERC KE Fellowship proposal)' |
| Amount | £3,600 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | NERC DH-Levine |
| Organisation | Natural Environment Research Council |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 01/2022 |
| End | 03/2022 |
| Description | NERC Future of UK Treescapes Fellowship awarded to James Levine: Advancing a planning Framework FOr Regionally Enhanced & Equitable Ecosystem Services from urban Treescapes (AFFORE3ST) |
| Amount | £39,846 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | NE/V009664/1 |
| Organisation | Natural Environment Research Council |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 01/2023 |
| End | 12/2023 |
| Description | Renewed Sponsorship (hosting only) of the Green Infrastructure for Roadside Air Quality (GI4RAQ) Platform by Trees for Cities - 4th December 2022 |
| Organisation | Trees For Cities |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | James Levine continues to provide light-touch support for Trees for Cities' teams using the Green Infrastructure for Roadside Air Quality (GI4RAQ) Platform; Trees for Cities' logo continues to be displayed on the software's landing page (www.GI4RAQ.ac.uk) in recognition of their sponsorship of its hosting on Cloudflare servers for a further 12 months. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Trees for Cities have kindly renewed their sponsorship of the GI4RAQ Platform's hosting on Cloudflare servers via Wild Ilk Ltd (developer of the software's web user interface) for a period of 12 months starting 4th December 2022. |
| Impact | Trees for Cities partnership on a NERC Future of UK Treescapes Fellowship (funded and currently in progress), AFFORE3ST: Advancing a planning Framework FOr Regionally Enhanced & Equitable Ecosystem Services from urban Treescapes |
| Start Year | 2022 |
| Description | Sponsorship (hosting only) of the Green Infrastructure for Roadside Air Quality (GI4RAQ) Platform by Trees for Cities - 4th December 2021 |
| Organisation | Trees For Cities |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | James Levine is training the relevant teams at Trees for Cities in the use of the Green Infrastructure for Roadside Air Quality (GI4RAQ) Platform (1 day preparation; 0.5 day workshop; 0.5 day subsequent support). He has also organised the display of Trees for Cities' logo on the software's landing page (www.GI4RAQ.ac.uk) in recognition of their sponsorship of the software's hosting on Cloudflare servers for 12 months. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Trees for Cities are kindly sponsoring the GI4RAQ Platform's hosting on Cloudflare servers via Wild Ilk Ltd (developer of the software's web user interface) for a period of 12 months starting 4th December 2021. |
| Impact | 'GI4RAQ Training Workshop' produced and delivered by James Levine for Trees for Cities (14th March 2022). Trees for Cities partnership on a NERC Discipline Hopping Block Grant (NERC ref. NERC DH-Levine) - funded and currently in progress: 'Proof-of-concept Urban Forest Digital Twin for improved Air Quality and Public Health (for a NERC KE Fellowship proposal)'. Trees for Cities partnership on said NERC KE Fellowship proposal (NERC ref. NE/X001857/1) - submitted 18th January 2022: 'NERC Knowledge Exchange Fellowship: QUantifiable and Equitable Services from Street Trees (QUESST) via Digital Twins'. |
| Start Year | 2021 |
| Title | Green Infrastructure for Roadside Air Quality (GI4RAQ) Platform - Officially Launched |
| Description | The GI4RAQ Platform was officially launched via a University of Birmingham press release on 8th July 2021 (https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/news/latest/2021/07/open-source-software-to-help-cities-plant-in-pursuit-of-clean-air.aspx) following publication of a peer-reviewed paper documenting the software and presenting first tests of its performance (https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/12/6/769). Co-designed with urban practitioners, this is the first software enabling a wide variety of urban stakeholders (i.e., not only air quality specialists) to estimate quantitatively the site-specific impacts of roadside vegetation barriers on local exposure to proximate vehicular pollution via changes in pollutant dispersion close to source. The GI4RAQ Platform is freely accessible at: www.GI4RAQ.ac.uk It draws on bespoke, open-source air quality code: https://github.com/GI4RAQ/GI4RAQ-open . It is fully documented by Pearce et al. (2021) in the open-access journal, Forests: https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/12/6/769 |
| Type Of Technology | Webtool/Application |
| Year Produced | 2021 |
| Impact | At time of writing, the GI4RAQ Platform has over 180 registered users. Amongst these, it is currently in use by: - Transport for London, in partnership with the Greater London Authority, on a public-realm improvement scheme in a London borough - Liverpool City Council, in partnership with The Mersey Forest and Liverpool ONE (Grosvenor Group) on a scheme in central Liverpool It has already been used for GI4RAQ feasibility studies commissioned in relation to: - 2x West Midlands Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) - A 1.2km long road improvement scheme in the West of England It has attracted 12 months' sponsorship (limited to web hosting) by Trees for Cities. |
| URL | http://www.GI4RAQ.ac.uk |
| Title | Green Infrastructure for Roadside Air Quality (GI4RAQ) Platform Prototype for User Testing - Nov 19 |
| Description | This prototype web-based software has been developed in the first instance for user testing; it will be made freely available and open source from the end of Q2 2020. It is the first software - co-designed with urban practitioners - to enable its users to estimate quantitatively the site-specific impacts of green infrastructure on exposure to road transport pollution via changes in pollutant dispersion close to source: i.e., subject to local conditions of wind and urban form, what green infrastructure, where with a street, will be of roughly how much benefit (or disbenefit) to who in different parts of that street's cross section. |
| Type Of Technology | Webtool/Application |
| Year Produced | 2019 |
| Impact | Not (yet) applicable; see description of software above. |
| URL | http://gi4raq.wildilk.com/pages/login |
| Title | Prototype Green Infrastructure for Roadside Air Quality (GI4RAQ) Platform - Revised and now live |
| Description | This prototype web-based software is now live, freely available and the underlying air quality code (cf. the web-based user interface) is open source. Web-based user interface accessed here: http://www.gi4raq.ac.uk Open-source air quality code available here: https://github.com/GI4RAQ/GI4RAQ-open It is the first software - co-designed with urban practitioners - to enable its users to estimate quantitatively the site-specific impacts of green infrastructure on exposure to road transport pollution via changes in pollutant dispersion close to source: i.e., subject to local conditions of wind and urban form, what green infrastructure, where with a street, will be of roughly how much benefit (or disbenefit) to who in different parts of that street's cross section. |
| Type Of Technology | Webtool/Application |
| Year Produced | 2020 |
| Impact | Due to furloughing of the developers responsible for the web-based user interface, as a result of COVID-19, the prototype GI4RAQ Platform was not live until late 2020. We will add evidence of impact in due course. |
| URL | http://www.gi4raq.ac.uk |
| Description | 'Digital Twins and Big Data [in Urban Forestry]' Scoping Event hosted by The Mersey Forest - 26th January 2022 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Scoping event hosted by The Mersey Forest to explore the use of digital twins and big data in urban forestry - horizon scanning with representatives from a range of organisations (e.g., Liverpool City Council, Liverpool John Moores University and Myerscough College). James Levine was invited to join the event and advise on the potential to embed (academic) numerical models of ecosystem services in digital twins (i.e., based on BIM or GIS) and thereby bring mechanistic/'bottom-up' understanding to complement 'top-down' insights from big data. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Air Pollution & Atmospheric Chemistry Seminar (University of Birmingham) - Mar 19 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Invited talk to: 1. Share the latest understanding of the influence that vegetation, or 'green infrastructure', has on urban air quality. As recently articulated by the Air Quality Expert Group (2018) in their report to DEFRA and the devolved authorities, the removal of NO2 and PM2.5 by deposition to leaf surfaces is inefficient at the scale of realistic urban planting schemes, but vegetation barriers can have a pronounced effect on the distribution of pollution close to source (e.g. at the roadside) via changes in dispersion. The latter effect can be of benefit or disbenefit, and this scientific understanding calls for strategic, site-specific use of vegetation barriers to realise robustly beneficial (highly localised changes) in roadside air quality. 2. Outline the evidence-based approach to 'Green Infrastructure for Roadside Air Quality' (GI4RAQ) I was developing in partnership with Transport for London (TfL) via the 6 month secondment to TfL funded by the associated NERC Innovation Placement grant. 3. Raise awareness of the GI4RAQ software prototype - scoped via a previous NERC Innovation Pathfinder grant, and to be developed with subsequent NERC Innovation Project grant. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Allometry media |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Media coverage for MacKenzie et al. 2019, 'Urban form strongly mediates the allometric scaling of airshed pollution concentrations", Environ. Res. Lett. Reach statistic by 15th Feb 2020 = 27 million, with a value to the funders calculated by the UoB press office as £502,000. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-51268918 |
| Description | Birmingham Institute of Forest Research Annual Meeting (University of Birmingham) - Jan 19 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Talk to: 1. Share the latest understanding of the influence that vegetation, or 'green infrastructure', has on urban air quality. As recently articulated by the Air Quality Expert Group (2018) in their report to DEFRA and the devolved authorities, the removal of NO2 and PM2.5 by deposition to leaf surfaces is inefficient at the scale of realistic urban planting schemes, but vegetation barriers can have a pronounced effect on the distribution of pollution close to source (e.g. at the roadside) via changes in dispersion. The latter effect can be of benefit or disbenefit, and this scientific understanding calls for strategic, site-specific use of vegetation barriers to realise robustly beneficial (highly localised changes) in roadside air quality. 2. Outline the evidence-based approach to 'Green Infrastructure for Roadside Air Quality' (GI4RAQ) I was developing in partnership with Transport for London (TfL) via the 6 month secondment to TfL funded by the associated NERC Innovation Placement grant. 3. Raise awareness of the GI4RAQ software prototype - scoped via a previous NERC Innovation Pathfinder grant, and to be developed with subsequent NERC Innovation Project grant. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/bifor/get-involved/Third-annual-BIFoR-community-meeting.aspx |
| Description | Clean Air Day 2020 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Clean Air Day 2020. An evening panel discussion organised by ST, chaired by ARMK, and including WJB on the panel. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Design Team Meeting with Liverpool City Council, The Mersey Forest and Liverpool ONE - 6th October 2021 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Design team meeting with Liverpool City Council, The Mersey Forest and Liverpool ONE (Grosvenor Group) regarding a public realm improvement scheme in central Liverpool employing 'Green Infrastructure for Roadside Air Quality' (GI4RAQ) to reduce local exposure to proximate vehicular pollution. James Levine was invited to join the design team to advise on GI4RAQ: he was able to influence the design of a vegetation barrier, later being asked to modify the drawings produced by a landscape architect, within the sites constraints, to maximise the partial protection from pollution afforded to people in the wake of the barrier. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | EnvironmentalHealth 2019 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Invited Chair and Keynote, Environmental Health 2019, A.R. MacKenzie: Not falling over: strategies for the three-legged race to better urban futures |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | First presentation of the developing GI4RAQ Platform to Phil Christensen (Bentley - Digital Cities) (9/6/2020) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | First presentation of the developing GI4RAQ Platform to Phil Christensen (Bentley - Digital Cities), exploring potential Digital Twins collaboration (9/6/2020) |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | http://www.gi4raq.ac.uk |
| Description | Follow-up presentation of the developing GI4RAQ Platform to Liverpool City Council and the Mersey Forest (20/5/2020) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Follow-up presentation of the developing GI4RAQ Platform to Liverpool City Council and the Mersey Forest, garnering support for a bid to UKRI to: - Use the prototype GI4RAQ Platform to advise on the implementation of GI4RAQ in 12 road/public realm improvement schemes (across four regional combined authorities); - Deploy extensive instrumentation in said schemes to make robust measurements of the local air quality impacts of those GI4RAQ interventions; and - Use these measurements, in combination with computational fluid dynamics studies, to rigorously test and systematically improve the Platform's air quality code. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | http://www.gi4raq.ac.uk |
| Description | FutureBuild 2020 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Invited keynote by A.R. MacKenzie: Reduce, Extend, Protect: Practical and evidenced steps to reduce public exposure to air pollution |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://www.futurebuild.co.uk/speakers/rob-mackenzie |
| Description | FutureBuild2020 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | "Reduce, Extend, Protect: Practical and evidenced steps to reduce public exposure to air pollution". Invited keynote, FutureBuild, London, 5 March 2020. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | INVITED TALK - Chartered Institute of Environmental Health - London Hub Environmental Protection Study Day (London) - Dec 19 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Invited talk to: 1. Engage a wide variety of stakeholders across Greater London in the development of a UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship bid re: reducing public exposure to road transport pollution, as a complement to essential emission reductions, for further improvements in public health (and health equality); see Other Outputs & Knowledge/Future Steps for more details. 2. Share the latest understanding of the influence that vegetation, or 'green infrastructure', has on urban air quality. 3. Introduce the evidence-based approach to 'Green Infrastructure for Roadside Air Quality' (GI4RAQ) I developed in partnership with Transport for London (TfL) via a 6 month secondment to TfL funded by a NERC Innovation Placement grant. 4. Outline the GI4RAQ software prototype now in development via a NERC Innovation Project grant following its scoping with a NERC Innovation Pathfinder grant. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://www.cieh.org/media/3519/london-pollution-study-day-programme-06-12-19.pdf |
| Description | INVITED TALK - Futurebuild 2019 (London) - Mar 2019 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Invited talk to: 1. Share the latest understanding of the influence that vegetation, or 'green infrastructure', has on urban air quality. As recently articulated by the Air Quality Expert Group (2018) in their report to DEFRA and the devolved authorities, the removal of NO2 and PM2.5 by deposition to leaf surfaces is inefficient at the scale of realistic urban planting schemes, but vegetation barriers can have a pronounced effect on the distribution of pollution close to source (e.g. at the roadside) via changes in dispersion. The latter effect can be of benefit or disbenefit, and this scientific understanding calls for strategic, site-specific use of vegetation barriers to realise robustly beneficial (highly localised changes) in roadside air quality. 2. Outline the evidence-based approach to 'Green Infrastructure for Roadside Air Quality' (GI4RAQ) I was developing in partnership with Transport for London (TfL) via the 6 month secondment to TfL funded by the associated NERC Innovation Placement grant. 3. Raise awareness of the GI4RAQ software prototype - scoped via a previous NERC Innovation Pathfinder grant, and to be developed with subsequent NERC Innovation Project grant. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | http://eventguides.co.uk/Futurebuild_2019_Event_Guide/page_73.html |
| Description | INVITED TALK - Futurebuild 2020 (London) - Mar 20 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Invited talk to: 1. Share the latest understanding of the influence that vegetation, or 'green infrastructure', has on urban air quality. 2. Introduce the GI4RAQ software prototype now in development via a NERC Innovation Project grant following its scoping with a NERC Innovation Pathfinder grant. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://www.futurebuild.co.uk/speakers/james-levine |
| Description | INVITED TALK - Greater Manchester Forests Partnership (Greater Manchester Combined Authority) - Jul 19 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Invited talk to: 1. Engage representatives of the ten Greater Manchester Districts in the development of a UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship bid re: reducing public exposure to road transport pollution, as a complement to essential emission reductions, for further improvements in public health (and health equality); see Other Outputs & Knowledge/Future Steps for more details. 2. Share the latest understanding of the influence that vegetation, or 'green infrastructure', has on urban air quality. 3. Introduce the evidence-based approach to 'Green Infrastructure for Roadside Air Quality' (GI4RAQ) I developed in partnership with Transport for London (TfL) via a 6 month secondment to TfL funded by a NERC Innovation Placement grant. 4. Outline the GI4RAQ software prototype now in development via a NERC Innovation Project grant following its scoping with a NERC Innovation Pathfinder grant. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | INVITED TALK - Investigation of Air Pollution Standing Committee Conference (Telford) - Nov 18 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Invited talk to: 1. Share the latest understanding of the influence that vegetation, or 'green infrastructure', has on urban air quality. As recently articulated by the Air Quality Expert Group (2018) in their report to DEFRA and the devolved authorities, the removal of NO2 and PM2.5 by deposition to leaf surfaces is inefficient at the scale of realistic urban planting schemes, but vegetation barriers can have a pronounced effect on the distribution of pollution close to source (e.g. at the roadside) via changes in dispersion. The latter effect can be of benefit or disbenefit, and this scientific understanding calls for strategic, site-specific use of vegetation barriers to realise robustly beneficial (highly localised changes) in roadside air quality. 2. Outline the evidence-based approach to 'Green Infrastructure for Roadside Air Quality' (GI4RAQ) I was developing in partnership with Transport for London (TfL) via the 6 month secondment to TfL funded by the associated NERC Innovation Placement grant. 3. Raise awareness of the GI4RAQ software prototype - scoped via a previous NERC Innovation Pathfinder grant, and to be developed with subsequent NERC Innovation Project grant. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | http://www.iapsc.org.uk/assets/documents/IAPSC_Agenda_Nov2018_Issue3.pdf |
| Description | INVITED TALK - Liverpool City Region Air Quality Seminar - Feb 19 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Invited talk to: 1. Share the latest understanding of the influence that vegetation, or 'green infrastructure', has on urban air quality. As recently articulated by the Air Quality Expert Group (2018) in their report to DEFRA and the devolved authorities, the removal of NO2 and PM2.5 by deposition to leaf surfaces is inefficient at the scale of realistic urban planting schemes, but vegetation barriers can have a pronounced effect on the distribution of pollution close to source (e.g. at the roadside) via changes in dispersion. The latter effect can be of benefit or disbenefit, and this scientific understanding calls for strategic, site-specific use of vegetation barriers to realise robustly beneficial (highly localised changes) in roadside air quality. 2. Outline the evidence-based approach to 'Green Infrastructure for Roadside Air Quality' (GI4RAQ) I was developing in partnership with Transport for London (TfL) via the 6 month secondment to TfL funded by the associated NERC Innovation Placement grant. 3. Raise awareness of the GI4RAQ software prototype - scoped via a previous NERC Innovation Pathfinder grant, and to be developed with subsequent NERC Innovation Project grant. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://twitter.com/merseyforest/status/1098903606235926528 |
| Description | INVITED TALK - Manchester City of Trees Conference (Salford) - Oct 19 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
| Results and Impact | Invited talk to: 1. Engage a wide variety of stakeholders across Greater Manchester in the development of a UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship bid re: reducing public exposure to road transport pollution, as a complement to essential emission reductions, for further improvements in public health (and health equality); see Other Outputs & Knowledge/Future Steps for more details. 2. Share the latest understanding of the influence that vegetation, or 'green infrastructure', has on urban air quality. 3. Introduce the evidence-based approach to 'Green Infrastructure for Roadside Air Quality' (GI4RAQ) I developed in partnership with Transport for London (TfL) via a 6 month secondment to TfL funded by a NERC Innovation Placement grant. 4. Outline the GI4RAQ software prototype now in development via a NERC Innovation Project grant following its scoping with a NERC Innovation Pathfinder grant. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | INVITED TALK - Manchester City of Trees Event (Salford) - Nov 18 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Invited talk to: 1. Share the latest understanding of the influence that vegetation, or 'green infrastructure', has on urban air quality. As recently articulated by the Air Quality Expert Group (2018) in their report to DEFRA and the devolved authorities, the removal of NO2 and PM2.5 by deposition to leaf surfaces is inefficient at the scale of realistic urban planting schemes, but vegetation barriers can have a pronounced effect on the distribution of pollution close to source (e.g. at the roadside) via changes in dispersion. The latter effect can be of benefit or disbenefit, and this scientific understanding calls for strategic, site-specific use of vegetation barriers to realise robustly beneficial (highly localised changes) in roadside air quality. 2. Outline the evidence-based approach to 'Green Infrastructure for Roadside Air Quality' (GI4RAQ) I was developing in partnership with Transport for London (TfL) via the 6 month secondment to TfL funded by the associated NERC Innovation Placement grant. 3. Raise awareness of the GI4RAQ software prototype - scoped via a previous NERC Innovation Pathfinder grant, and to be developed with subsequent NERC Innovation Project grant. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | http://www.cityoftrees.org.uk/event/contribution-trees-and-gi-green-infrastructure-creating-resilien... |
| Description | INVITED TALK - Midlands Trees & Design Action Group (Birmingham) - Feb 20 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Invited talk to: 1. Interest a wide variety of stakeholders across the West Midlands in the development of a UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship bid re: reducing public exposure to road transport pollution, as a complement to essential emission reductions, for further improvements in public health (and health equality). 2. Share the latest understanding of the influence that vegetation, or 'green infrastructure', has on urban air quality. 3. Introduce the evidence-based approach to 'Green Infrastructure for Roadside Air Quality' (GI4RAQ) I developed in partnership with Transport for London (TfL) via a 6 month secondment to TfL funded by a NERC Innovation Placement grant. 4. Outline the GI4RAQ software prototype now in development via a NERC Innovation Project grant following its scoping with a NERC Innovation Pathfinder grant. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/tdag-seminar-series-gi-air-quality-brum-06022020-tickets-88501573589# |
| Description | INVITED TALK - Transport for West Midlands (Birmingham) - Dec 19 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Invited talk to: 1. Share the latest understanding of the influence that vegetation, or 'green infrastructure', has on urban air quality. 2. Introduce the evidence-based approach to 'Green Infrastructure for Roadside Air Quality' (GI4RAQ) I developed in partnership with Transport for London (TfL) via a 6 month secondment to TfL funded by a NERC Innovation Placement grant. 3. Outline the GI4RAQ software prototype now in development via a NERC Innovation Project grant following its scoping with a NERC Innovation Pathfinder grant. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | INVITED TALK - University College London Urban Modelling Workshop (London) - Mar 19 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Invited talk to: 1. Share the latest understanding of the influence that vegetation, or 'green infrastructure', has on urban air quality. As recently articulated by the Air Quality Expert Group (2018) in their report to DEFRA and the devolved authorities, the removal of NO2 and PM2.5 by deposition to leaf surfaces is inefficient at the scale of realistic urban planting schemes, but vegetation barriers can have a pronounced effect on the distribution of pollution close to source (e.g. at the roadside) via changes in dispersion. The latter effect can be of benefit or disbenefit, and this scientific understanding calls for strategic, site-specific use of vegetation barriers to realise robustly beneficial (highly localised changes) in roadside air quality. 2. Outline the evidence-based approach to 'Green Infrastructure for Roadside Air Quality' (GI4RAQ) I was developing in partnership with Transport for London (TfL) via the 6 month secondment to TfL funded by the associated NERC Innovation Placement grant. 3. Raise awareness of the GI4RAQ software prototype - scoped via a previous NERC Innovation Pathfinder grant, and to be developed with subsequent NERC Innovation Project grant. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | INVITED TALK - Urban Design London Air Quality Event (Transport for London) - Jan 20 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Invited talk to: 1. Engage a wide variety of stakeholders across Greater London in the development of a UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship bid re: reducing public exposure to road transport pollution, as a complement to essential emission reductions, for further improvements in public health (and health equality); see Other Outputs & Knowledge/Future Steps for more details. 2. Share the latest understanding of the influence that vegetation, or 'green infrastructure', has on urban air quality. 3. Introduce the evidence-based approach to 'Green Infrastructure for Roadside Air Quality' (GI4RAQ) I developed in partnership with Transport for London (TfL) via a 6 month secondment to TfL funded by a NERC Innovation Placement grant. 4. Outline the GI4RAQ software prototype now in development via a NERC Innovation Project grant following its scoping with a NERC Innovation Pathfinder grant. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://www.urbandesignlondon.com/events/2019-2020/london/#improving-londons-air-quality-30-01-20 |
| Description | INVITED TALK - West Sussex Inter-Authority Air Quality Group (Horsham) - Jun 19 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Invited talk to: 1. Share the latest understanding of the influence that vegetation, or 'green infrastructure', has on urban air quality. 2. Introduce the evidence-based approach to 'Green Infrastructure for Roadside Air Quality' (GI4RAQ) I developed in partnership with Transport for London (TfL) via a 6 month secondment to TfL funded by a NERC Innovation Placement grant. 3. Outline the GI4RAQ software prototype now in development via a NERC Innovation Project grant following its scoping with a NERC Innovation Pathfinder grant. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | INVITED TALK - West Yorkshire Combined Authority Low Emission Strategy Delivery Group (WYCA) - Dec 19 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Invited talk to: 1. Engage representatives of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, and the ten West Yorkshire Districts, in the development of a UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship bid re: reducing public exposure to road transport pollution, as a complement to essential emission reductions, for further improvements in public health (and health equality); see Other Outputs & Knowledge/Future Steps for more details. 2. Share the latest understanding of the influence that vegetation, or 'green infrastructure', has on urban air quality. 3. Introduce the evidence-based approach to 'Green Infrastructure for Roadside Air Quality' (GI4RAQ) I developed in partnership with Transport for London (TfL) via a 6 month secondment to TfL funded by a NERC Innovation Placement grant. 4. Outline the GI4RAQ software prototype now in development via a NERC Innovation Project grant following its scoping with a NERC Innovation Pathfinder grant. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Invited talk at University of Birmingham 'Building and Managing Interdisciplinary Teams' workshop - 25th February 2022 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | James Levine gave an invited talk (10 mins) + Q&A (15 mins) at this workshop focussed on building and managing interdisciplinary research teams. James has since met with one of the attendees, taking a similar approach to building external collaborations and sharing interests in combining technological developments (e.g. software innovation) with discursive activities (e.g. consensus building amongst varied stakeholders), to scope an outline grant proposal. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Led a Green Infrastructure for Roadside Air Quality (GI4RAQ) Training Workshop for Trees for Cities - 14th March 2022 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | GI4RAQ Training Workshop for Trees for Cities' Planning, Implementation and Press/Public Relations teams: training to use the software and apply it to a real-world scheme (Sunnyhill Primary School, London SW16 2UW) in exchange for their sponsorship of the software's hosting for 12 months. Future plans* made include: - Delivering strategic, evidence-based street tree planting schemes in partnership with local authorities - Building organisational capacity within Trees for Cities and across its local authority partner network (currently Harrow, Haringey, Tower Hamlets and Croydon) - Working with three local authority partners (one per year) to monitor the air quality impacts of planting interventions and co-developing a street tree planting strategy: i.e., a replicable and evidenced approach *Pending funding of a NERC KE Fellowship proposal (NERC ref. NE/X001857/1) - submitted 18th January 2022: 'NERC Knowledge Exchange Fellowship: QUantifiable and Equitable Services from Street Trees (QUESST) via Digital Twins' |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Meeting to scope AECOM's engagement in the TRANSITION Clean Air Network (8/12/2020) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Suzanne Bartington (PI of TRANSITION) and James Levine (Innovation Network Manager for TRANSITION) met with David Deakin, Technical Director (Air Quality & Permitting) at AECOM, to: - Present the aims, scope and planned activities of the TRANSITION Clean Air Network - Clarify AECOM's current and future priorities re transport decarbonisation and associated air quality objectives - Scope AECOM's engagement in the TRANSITION Clean Air Network: i.e., how the Network can support AECOM in pursuing the above priorities and objectives; and how AECOM might support the Network's members in optimising the air quality and health benefits of the UK's low-emission mobility revolution. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Meeting with Bradford City Council (Bradford) - Jan 20 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Presentation to engage representatives of Bradford City Council in the development of a UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship bid re: reducing public exposure to road transport pollution, as a complement to essential emission reductions, for further improvements in public health (and health equality); see Other Outputs & Knowledge/Future Steps for more details. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Meeting with Churchman Thornhill Finch Landscape Architects to scope a Highways England Road Improvement Feasibility Study - 16th July 2021 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Scoping meeting with Churchman Thornhill Finch Landscape Architects regarding the inclusion of 'Green Infrastructure for Roadside Air Quality' (GI4RAQ) in a major road improvement scheme by Highways England. -> James Levine has recently been appointed to an 11-day GI4RAQ feasibility study - led by Churchman Thornhill Finch, for Keir on behalf of Highways England - via the University of Birmingham's Academic Consultancy Service. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Meeting with Create Streets to develop a collaborative proposal, 'Deep Green' (21/1/2021) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | James Levine (Innovation Network Manager for TRANSITION) met with David Milner, Projects Director at Create Streets, to develop a collaborative proposal, 'Deep Green', re the development of low-carbon and clean air residential developments - linkages to GI4RAQ and WM-Air projects. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | http://www.gi4raq.ac.uk |
| Description | Meeting with Create Streets to discuss the prototype GI4RAQ Platform, StreetScore and Deep Green (18/11/2020) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | James Levine met with David Milner, Projects Director at Create Streets, to present the prototype Green Infrastructure for Roadside Air Quality (GI4RAQ) Platform and explore potential linkages to their StreetScore tool (to estimate the 'value' of streets) and Deep Green proposal (to develop a design guide for low-carbon, clean air developments). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | http://www.gi4raq.ac.uk |
| Description | Meeting with David Deakin, Technical Director for Air Quality, AECOM (Birmingham) - Feb 19 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Discussion with, and pitch to, David Deakin, Technical Director for Air Quality, to engage AECOM in the development of a UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship bid re: reducing public exposure to road transport pollution, as a complement to essential emission reductions, for further improvements in public health (and health equality); see Other Outputs & Knowledge/Future Steps for more details. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Meeting with Greater London Authority (City Hall, London) - Dec 19 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Discussion with, and pitch to, representatives of the Greater London Authority to engage them in the development of a UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship bid re: reducing public exposure to road transport pollution, as a complement to essential emission reductions, for further improvements in public health (and health equality); see Other Outputs & Knowledge/Future Steps for more details. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Meeting with Greater London Authority (City Hall, London) - Feb 19 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Meeting at the Greater London Authority (GLA) with: Katrina Ramsey, Principal Policy Officer for Green Infrastructure and Manager of the Greener City Fund; and Ben Connor, Senior Policy & Programmes Officer for Green Infrastructure. I was invited to help evaluate bids from London schools to the GLA's Greener City Fund for green infrastructure interventions to reduce schoolchildren's exposure to road transport pollution following the Mayor of London's Schools Air Quality Audit. I did so during a 6 month secondment to Transport for London (TfL), funded by a NERC Innovation Placement grant, to develop TfL's first evidence-based approach to 'Green Infrastructure for Roadside Air Quality'. It was during this same period that I was asked to lead the writing of new guidance on behalf of the GLA, 'Using Green Infrastructure to Protect People from Air Pollution'. The combination of formal guidance, and meetings such as this, built evidence-based understanding that should aid and inform future allocation of funds. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Meeting with Greater Manchester Combined Authority to scope Next Steps for 'GI4RAQ' and Equitable Ecosystem Services - 15th December 2021 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | James Levine met with Greater Manchester Combined Authority's Head of Natural Environment, Sam Evans, to scope Next Steps for 'Green Infrastructure for Roadside Air Quality' (GI4RAQ) and James' increasing focus on equitable provision of ecosystem services. -> James subsequently secured their partnership on a NERC KE Fellowship proposal (NERC ref. NE/X001857/1) - submitted 18th January 2022: 'NERC Knowledge Exchange Fellowship: QUantifiable and Equitable Services from Street Trees (QUESST) via Digital Twins'. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Meeting with Highways England re Roadside Barriers - 21st October 2021 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | James Levine met with Highways England's Principal Air Quality Advisor, Andrew Bean, to discuss the efficacy of roadside barriers in reducing local exposure to air pollution from proximate vehicles; Stephen had seen James' presentation at the UKHSA Annual UK Research Review Meeting on Outdoor and Indoor Air Pollution Research (14th Oct 2021). -> James has been invited by Highways England to review a measurement study of the impacts of roadside barriers on local air quality. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Meeting with Iain Taylor, Chair of the Community Forest Trust (Rossendale) - Nov 19 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
| Results and Impact | Discussion with, and pitch to, Iain Taylor to engage the Community Forest Trust in the development of a UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship bid re: reducing public exposure to road transport pollution, as a complement to essential emission reductions, for further improvements in public health (and health equality); see Other Outputs & Knowledge/Future Steps for more details. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Meeting with James Richer, Global Air Quality Practice Director, AECOM (Aldgate Tower, London) - Aug 19 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Discussion with, and pitch to, James Richer and his colleague, David Deakin, Technical Director for Air Quality, to engage AECOM in a potentially industry-changing world-first software solution that could enable a new best practice, or 'next practice', in the sphere of urban development for improved air quality and public health. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Meeting with James Richer, Global Air Quality Practice Director, AECOM (Aldgate Tower, London) - Jan 20 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | [Further] Discussion with, and pitch to, James Richer and his colleague, David Deakin, Technical Director for Air Quality, to engage AECOM in a potentially industry-changing world-first software solution that could enable a new best practice, or 'next practice', in the sphere of urban development for improved air quality and public health. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Meeting with John Parker, Technical Director, Arboricultural Association (Stonehouse) - Dec 19 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Discussion with, and pitch to, John Parker to engage the Arboricultural Association in the development of a UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship bid re: reducing public exposure to road transport pollution, as a complement to essential emission reductions, for further improvements in public health (and health equality); see Other Outputs & Knowledge/Future Steps for more details. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Meeting with Joseph Coles, Urban Programme Lead, Woodland Trust (Leeds) - Dec 19 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
| Results and Impact | Discussion with, and pitch to, Joseph Coles to engage the Woodland Trust in the development of a UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship bid re: reducing public exposure to road transport pollution, as a complement to essential emission reductions, for further improvements in public health (and health equality); see Other Outputs & Knowledge/Future Steps for more details. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Meeting with Kieron Doick, Head of Urban Forest Research Group, Forest Research (Bentley) - Jan 20 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Discussion with, and pitch to, Kieron Doick to engage Forest Research as a potential partner in a European Horizon 2020 proposal (Stage 2); see Other Outputs & Knowledge/Future Steps for more details. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Meeting with Leeds City Council and West Yorkshire Combined Authority (Leeds) - Dec 19 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Presentation to engage representatives of Leeds City Council and the West Yorkshire Combined Authority in the development of a UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship bid re: reducing public exposure to road transport pollution, as a complement to essential emission reductions, for further improvements in public health (and health equality); see Other Outputs & Knowledge/Future Steps for more details. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Meeting with Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, Mersey Forest & Liverpool ONE (Liverpool) - Jul 19 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Presentation to engage representatives of the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, Mersey Forest & Liverpool ONE in the development of a UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship bid re: reducing public exposure to road transport pollution, as a complement to essential emission reductions, for further improvements in public health (and health equality); see Other Outputs & Knowledge/Future Steps for more details. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Meeting with Manchester City Council (Manchester) - Jan 20 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Presentation to engage representatives of Manchester City Council in the development of a UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship bid re: reducing public exposure to road transport pollution, as a complement to essential emission reductions, for further improvements in public health (and health equality); see Other Outputs & Knowledge/Future Steps for more details. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Meeting with Manchester City of Trees to scope Next Steps for 'GI4RAQ' and Equitable Ecosystem Services - 16th July 2021 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | James Levine met with Manchester City of Trees' Green Infrastructure Resilience Manager, Pete Stringer, to scope Next Steps for 'Green Infrastructure for Roadside Air Quality' (GI4RAQ) and James' increasing focus on equitable provision of ecosystem services. -> James subsequently secured their partnership on a NERC KE Fellowship proposal (NERC ref. NE/X001857/1) - submitted 18th January 2022: 'NERC Knowledge Exchange Fellowship: QUantifiable and Equitable Services from Street Trees (QUESST) via Digital Twins'. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Meeting with Prof Alan Simson, Chair of White Rose Forest Steering Group (Leeds Beckett University) - Jul 19 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Discussion with, and pitch to, Prof Alan Simson to engage the White Rose Forest in the development of a UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship bid re: reducing public exposure to road transport pollution, as a complement to essential emission reductions, for further improvements in public health (and health equality); see Other Outputs & Knowledge/Future Steps for more details. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Meeting with Prof Mark Birkin, Urban Analytics Programme Lead, Alan Turing Institute (London) - Jan 20 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Discussion with, and pitch to, Prof Mark Birkin to engage the Alan Turing Institute (Urban Analytics Programme) as a potential partner in a European Horizon 2020 proposal (Stage 2); see Other Outputs & Knowledge/Future Steps for more details. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Meeting with Salford City Council, University of Salford and RHS Garden Bridgewater (Salford) - Dec 19 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Presentation to engage representatives of Salford City Council, the University of Salford and RHS Garden Bridgewater in the development of a UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship bid re: reducing public exposure to road transport pollution, as a complement to essential emission reductions, for further improvements in public health (and health equality); see Other Outputs & Knowledge/Future Steps for more details. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Meeting with The Greater London Authority to discuss 'GI4RAQ' and their Air Quality Positive Policy - 2nd November 2021 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | James Levine met with The Greater London Authority's Stella Yeung regarding the contribution 'Green Infrastructure for Roadside Air Quality' (GI4RAQ) can make to Air Quality Positive initiatives. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Meeting with The Mersey Forest to scope Next Steps for 'GI4RAQ' and Equitable Ecosystem Services - 10th August 2021 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | James Levine met with The Mersey Forest's Director, Paul Nolan OBE, to scope Next Steps for 'Green Infrastructure for Roadside Air Quality' (GI4RAQ) and James' increasing focus on equitable provision of ecosystem services. -> James subsequently secured their partnership on a NERC KE Fellowship proposal (NERC ref. NE/X001857/1) - submitted 18th January 2022: 'NERC Knowledge Exchange Fellowship: QUantifiable and Equitable Services from Street Trees (QUESST) via Digital Twins'. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Meeting with The Woodland Trust to scope Next Steps for 'GI4RAQ' and Equitable Ecosystem Services - 29th November 2021 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | James Levine met with The Woodland Trust's Urban Forestry Programme Lead, Sarah Shorley, and her colleagues to scope Next Steps for 'Green Infrastructure for Roadside Air Quality' (GI4RAQ) and James' increasing focus on equitable provision of ecosystem services. -> James subsequently secured their partnership on a NERC KE Fellowship proposal (NERC ref. NE/X001857/1) - submitted 18th January 2022: 'NERC Knowledge Exchange Fellowship: QUantifiable and Equitable Services from Street Trees (QUESST) via Digital Twins'. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Meeting with Transport for Greater Manchester (Manchester) - Jul 19 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Presentation to engage representatives of Transport for Greater Manchester in the development of a UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship bid re: reducing public exposure to road transport pollution, as a complement to essential emission reductions, for further improvements in public health (and health equality); see Other Outputs & Knowledge/Future Steps for more details. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Meeting with Transport for Greater Manchester (Manchester) - Oct 19 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | (Further) Presentation to engage representatives of Transport for Greater Manchester in the development of a UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship bid re: reducing public exposure to road transport pollution, as a complement to essential emission reductions, for further improvements in public health (and health equality); see Other Outputs & Knowledge/Future Steps for more details. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Meeting with Transport for London (London) - Mar 20 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Discussion with, and pitch to, representatives of Transport for London to engage them in the development of a UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship bid re: reducing public exposure to road transport pollution, as a complement to essential emission reductions, for further improvements in public health (and health equality); see Other Outputs & Knowledge/Future Steps for more details. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Meeting with Transport for London (London) - Nov 19 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Discussion with, and pitch to, representatives of Transport for London to engage them in the development of a UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship bid re: reducing public exposure to road transport pollution, as a complement to essential emission reductions, for further improvements in public health (and health equality); see Other Outputs & Knowledge/Future Steps for more details. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Meeting with Transport for London to scope Next Steps for 'GI4RAQ' and Equitable Ecosystem Services - 9th June 2021 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | James Levine met with Transport for London's Green Infrastructure Principal Policy Advisory, Charles Snead, and his colleagues to scope Next Steps for 'Green Infrastructure for Roadside Air Quality' (GI4RAQ) and James' increasing focus on equitable provision of ecosystem services. -> James subsequently secured their partnership on a NERC KE Fellowship proposal (NERC ref. NE/X001857/1) - submitted 18th January 2022: 'NERC Knowledge Exchange Fellowship: QUantifiable and Equitable Services from Street Trees (QUESST) via Digital Twins'. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Meeting with Trees for Cities to scope Next Steps for 'GI4RAQ' and Equitable Ecosystem Services - 18th November 2021 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | James Levine met with Trees for Cities' Deputy Chief Executive / Development Director, Kate Sheldon, to scope Next Steps for 'Green Infrastructure for Roadside Air Quality' (GI4RAQ) and James' increasing focus on equitable provision of ecosystem services. -> James subsequently secured their partnership on a NERC KE Fellowship proposal (NERC ref. NE/X001857/1) - submitted 18th January 2022: 'NERC Knowledge Exchange Fellowship: QUantifiable and Equitable Services from Street Trees (QUESST) via Digital Twins'. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Meeting with West Midlands local authority representatives re air quality and the planning process (27/1/2021) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | James Levine joined Emma Ferranti and Joe Acton in a meeting with approximately a dozen West Midlands local authority representatives to discuss opportunities to embed air quality policy in the planning process. The meeting was organised, and held, under the umbrella of the WM-Air project, with potential linkages to the GI4RAQ project. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Meeting with two West Midlands Business Improvement Districts to scope an Urban Greening Feasibility Study - 14th July 2021 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Scoping meeting with two West Midlands Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) regarding the inclusion of 'Green Infrastructure for Roadside Air Quality' (GI4RAQ) in a proposed programme of urban greening. -> James Levine subsequently undertook a four day GI4RAQ feasibility study for the BIDs through the University of Birmingham's Academic Consultancy Service. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Online Article - Air Quality News - Oct 19 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | I wrote this article (co-authored by Emma Ferranti, University of Birmingham) to clarify the role that green infrastructure can play in reducing exposure to road transport pollution in the urban environment and, thereby, improving public health outcomes. There have been a lot of mixed messages in the popular press, and even the academic literature. In line with the Air Quality Expert Group's (2018) report to DEFRA and the devolved authorities, this article aimed to clarify: - The removal of NO2 and PM2.5 by deposition to leaf surfaces is inefficient at the scale of realistic urban planting schemes; but - Vegetation barriers can have a pronounced effect on the distribution of pollution close to source (e.g. at the roadside) via changes in dispersion. The latter effect can be of benefit or disbenefit, and this scientific understanding calls for strategic, site-specific use of vegetation barriers to realise robustly beneficial (highly localised changes) in roadside air quality. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://airqualitynews.com/2019/10/04/why-green-infrastructure-is-critical-for-improving-air-quality... |
| Description | Online Article - The Institution of Environmental Sciences - Mar 19 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Emma Ferranti, University of Birmingham, wrote this article (co-authored by myself and Prof Rob MacKenzie, University of Birmingham), amongst other things, to clarify the role that green infrastructure can play in reducing exposure to road transport pollution in the urban environment and, thereby, improving public health outcomes. There have been a lot of mixed messages in the popular press, and even the academic literature. In line with the Air Quality Expert Group's (2018) report to DEFRA and the devolved authorities, this article aimed to clarify: - The removal of NO2 and PM2.5 by deposition to leaf surfaces is inefficient at the scale of realistic urban planting schemes; but - Vegetation barriers can have a pronounced effect on the distribution of pollution close to source (e.g. at the roadside) via changes in dispersion. The latter effect can be of benefit or disbenefit, and this scientific understanding calls for strategic, site-specific use of vegetation barriers to realise robustly beneficial (highly localised changes) in roadside air quality. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://www.the-ies.org/analysis/role-trees-and-other-green |
| Description | Participation in Belmont Forum's scoping of Collaborative Research Action for UKRI, 'Unlocking the Benefits of Urban Green and Blue Spaces' |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | James Levine participated in a 4-hour international workshop, led by the Belmont Forum, to scope a Collaborative Research Action (CRA) for UKRI, 'Unlocking the Benefits of Urban Green and Blue Spaces'. This included drafting priority research challenges and questions which could potentially form the basis of a CRA (incl. Co-production; Culture; Inclusion; Sustainability; Policy; Trade-offs; Biodiversity; Scale; Co-benefits; Connectivity; and Monitoring, quality and technology) and suggestions of effective delivery mechanisms of a CRA in this research space (incl. Type and duration of funding; and Eligibility for funding). The Belmont Forum has since produced an independent 'Scoping Workshops Report' for UKRI, available at: https://www.ukri.org/publications/unlocking-the-benefits-of-urban-green-and-blue-spaces/ |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.ukri.org/publications/unlocking-the-benefits-of-urban-green-and-blue-spaces/ |
| Description | Participation in The Mersey Forest's URBAN GreenUP Data Day (11th April 2022) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | James Levine participated in The Mersey Forest's URBAN GreenUP Data Day, reviewing measurements and modelling data generated in the £3.5 million Horizon 2020 project, URBAN GreenUP, and looking at how these data may be used to inform future green infrastructure planning (e.g., IoT in Digital Twinning). Participants included project partners, e.g., Liverpool City Council, University of Liverpool and their counterparts in Valladolid (Spain) and Izmir (Turkey). The aggregate data, and supporting data science, inform for instance the Liverpool City Region Green Infrastructure Framework. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.merseyforest.org.uk/our-work/green-infrastructure/liverpool-city-region-green-infrastruc... |
| Description | Presentation at UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) Annual UK Research Review Meeting on Outdoor and Indoor Air Pollution Research - 14th October 2021 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Presentation - 'Green Infrastructure for Roadside Air Quality in the context of the Climate Emergency: The need for selective and strategic urban tree planting'. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.phe-events.org.uk/hpa/frontend/reg/absViewDocumentFE.csp?documentID=17697&eventID=961 |
| Description | Presentation of developing GI4RAQ Platform to Liverpool City Region and Cheshire regional air quality group (16/7/2020) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Presentation of developing GI4RAQ Platform to Liverpool City Region and Cheshire regional air quality group, garnering support for a bid to UKRI to: - Use the prototype GI4RAQ Platform to advise on the implementation of GI4RAQ in 12 road/public realm improvement schemes (across four regional combined authorities); - Deploy extensive instrumentation in said schemes to make robust measurements of the local air quality impacts of those GI4RAQ interventions; and - Use these measurements, in combination with computational fluid dynamics studies, to rigorously test and systematically improve the Platform's air quality code. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | http://www.gi4raq.ac.uk |
| Description | Presentation of the developing GI4RAQ Platform to Greater Manchester Combined Authority & Transport for Greater Manchester (17/3/2020) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Presentation of the developing GI4RAQ Platform to Greater Manchester Combined Authority & Transport for Greater Manchester, garnering support for a bid to UKRI to: - Use the prototype GI4RAQ Platform to advise on the implementation of GI4RAQ in 12 road/public realm improvement schemes (across four regional combined authorities); - Deploy extensive instrumentation in said schemes to make robust measurements of the local air quality impacts of those GI4RAQ interventions; and - Use these measurements, in combination with computational fluid dynamics studies, to rigorously test and systematically improve the Platform's air quality code. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | http://www.gi4raq.ac.uk |
| Description | Presentation of the developing GI4RAQ Platform to James Richer & David Deakin (AECOM) (3/7/2020) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Presentation of the developing GI4RAQ Platform to James Richer & David Deakin (AECOM), exploring potential Digital Twins collaboration (3/7/2020) |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | http://www.gi4raq.ac.uk |
| Description | Presentation of the developing GI4RAQ Platform to Julie Smith (Myerscough College) (2/6/2020) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Presentation of the developing GI4RAQ Platform to Julie Smith (Myerscough College), garnering support for a bid to UKRI to: - Use the prototype GI4RAQ Platform to advise on the implementation of GI4RAQ in 12 road/public realm improvement schemes (across four regional combined authorities); - Deploy extensive instrumentation in said schemes to make robust measurements of the local air quality impacts of those GI4RAQ interventions; and - Use these measurements, in combination with computational fluid dynamics studies, to rigorously test and systematically improve the Platform's air quality code. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | http://www.gi4raq.ac.uk |
| Description | Presentation of the developing GI4RAQ Platform to Kirklees Council (15/4/2020) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Presentation of the developing GI4RAQ Platform to Kirklees Council, garnering support for a bid to UKRI to: - Use the prototype GI4RAQ Platform to advise on the implementation of GI4RAQ in 12 road/public realm improvement schemes (across four regional combined authorities); - Deploy extensive instrumentation in said schemes to make robust measurements of the local air quality impacts of those GI4RAQ interventions; and - Use these measurements, in combination with computational fluid dynamics studies, to rigorously test and systematically improve the Platform's air quality code. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | http://www.gi4raq.ac.uk |
| Description | Presentation of the developing GI4RAQ Platform to Liverpool City Council and the Mersey Forest (5/5/2020) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Presentation of the developing GI4RAQ Platform to Liverpool City Council and the Mersey Forest, garnering support for a bid to UKRI to: - Use the prototype GI4RAQ Platform to advise on the implementation of GI4RAQ in 12 road/public realm improvement schemes (across four regional combined authorities); - Deploy extensive instrumentation in said schemes to make robust measurements of the local air quality impacts of those GI4RAQ interventions; and - Use these measurements, in combination with computational fluid dynamics studies, to rigorously test and systematically improve the Platform's air quality code. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | http://www.gi4raq.ac.uk |
| Description | Presentation of the developing GI4RAQ Platform to Mehrdad Borna (University of Westminster) (15/5/2020) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Presentation of the developing GI4RAQ Platform to Mehrdad Borna (University of Westminster) with a view to aligning common research interests. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | http://www.gi4raq.ac.uk |
| Description | Presentation of the developing GI4RAQ Platform to Sabina Mohideen (Design Council) (4/6/2020) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Presentation of the developing GI4RAQ Platform to Sabina Mohideen (Design Council), garnering support for a bid to UKRI to: - Use the prototype GI4RAQ Platform to advise on the implementation of GI4RAQ in 12 road/public realm improvement schemes (across four regional combined authorities); - Deploy extensive instrumentation in said schemes to make robust measurements of the local air quality impacts of those GI4RAQ interventions; and - Use these measurements, in combination with computational fluid dynamics studies, to rigorously test and systematically improve the Platform's air quality code. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | http://www.gi4raq.ac.uk |
| Description | Presentation of the developing GI4RAQ Platform to Transport for London (22/4/2020) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Presentation of the developing GI4RAQ Platform to Transport for London, garnering support for a bid to UKRI to: - Use the prototype GI4RAQ Platform to advise on the implementation of GI4RAQ in 12 road/public realm improvement schemes (across four regional combined authorities); - Deploy extensive instrumentation in said schemes to make robust measurements of the local air quality impacts of those GI4RAQ interventions; and - Use these measurements, in combination with computational fluid dynamics studies, to rigorously test and systematically improve the Platform's air quality code. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | http://www.gi4raq.ac.uk |
| Description | Presentation of the developing GI4RAQ Platform to West Yorkshire Combined Authority and five local authorities in the Combined Authority region (2/4/2020) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Presentation of the developing GI4RAQ Platform to West Yorkshire Combined Authority and five local authorities in the Combined Authority region, garnering support for a bid to UKRI to: - Use the prototype GI4RAQ Platform to advise on the implementation of GI4RAQ in 12 road/public realm improvement schemes (across four regional combined authorities); - Deploy extensive instrumentation in said schemes to make robust measurements of the local air quality impacts of those GI4RAQ interventions; and - Use these measurements, in combination with computational fluid dynamics studies, to rigorously test and systematically improve the Platform's air quality code. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | http://www.gi4raq.ac.uk |
| Description | Presentation of the developing GI4RAQ Platform to Wild Streets (25/5/2020) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
| Results and Impact | Presentation of the developing GI4RAQ Platform to Wild Streets, exploring potential synergies between our software and theirs - and the development of a joint mobile app. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | http://www.gi4raq.ac.uk |
| Description | Presentation of the developing GI4RAQ Platform to the Greater London Authority's APRIL Group (23/4/2020) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Presentation of the developing GI4RAQ Platform to the Greater London Authority's Air Pollution Research in London Group (Health and Exposure Sub-Group). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | http://www.gi4raq.ac.uk |
| Description | Presentation to Branching Out (NERC Future of UK Treescapes) Project Team (13th March 2023) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | James Levine gave a 10-min presentation to the Branching Out project team on his Fellowship (also funded through the NERC Future of UK Treescapes programme), AFFORE3ST: Advancing a planning Framework FOr Regionally Enhanced & Equitable Ecosystem Services from urban Treescapes. He will now be joining a number of Branching Out 'story-telling' workshops in Cardiff and Milton Keynes, to learn from them new approaches to public engagement - gleaning the value of trees capes to UK citizens through voluntary narratives - applicable to his fellowship. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://www.uktreescapes.org/projects/branching-out/ |
| Description | Presentation to Forest Research's Urban Forestry Group (17th January 2023) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | James Levine gave a 10-min presentation to Forest Research's Urban Forestry Group on his NERC Future of UK Treescapes Fellowship, AFFORE3ST: Advancing a planning Framework FOr Regionally Enhanced & Equitable Ecosystem Services from urban Treescapes. He has since met three times with group members, Phillip Handley and Madalena Vaz-Monteiro, to discuss, scope and start writing a joint follow-on proposal. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://www.uktreescapes.org/projects/dr-james-levine/ |
| Description | Presentation to Tower Hamlets London Borough Council's Air Quality Team (1st March 2023) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | James Levine gave a 10-min presentation to Tower Hamlets London Borough Council's Air Quality Team on his NERC Future of UK Treescapes fellowship, AFFORE3ST: Advancing a planning Framework FOr Regionally Enhanced & Equitable Ecosystem Services from urban Treescapes. The council's Principal Air Quality Officer, Nicoletta Vianello, is now engaged in his air-quality focussed contribution to a Strategic Planting Plan for the borough - led overall by Suzanne Littlewood, Senior Partnerships and Development Coordinator for Trees for Cities (AFFORE3ST partner). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://www.uktreescapes.org/projects/dr-james-levine/ |
| Description | Presentation to Tower Hamlets London Borough Council's Arboricultural Team (25th January 2023) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | James Levine gave a 10-min presentation to Tower Hamlets London Borough Council's Arboricultural Team on his NERC Future of UK Treescapes fellowship, AFFORE3ST: Advancing a planning Framework FOr Regionally Enhanced & Equitable Ecosystem Services from urban Treescapes. The council's Senior Arboricultural Officer, Adam Armstrong, and Biodiversity Officer, John Archer, are now engaged in his air-quality focussed contribution to a Strategic Planting Plan for the borough - led overall by Suzanne Littlewood, Senior Partnerships and Development Coordinator for Trees for Cities (AFFORE3ST partner). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://www.uktreescapes.org/projects/dr-james-levine/ |
| Description | Press Release (University of Birmingham) officially launching the Green Infrastructure for Roadside Air Quality (GI4RAQ) Platform - 8th July 2021 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The GI4RAQ Platform was officially launched via this University of Birmingham press release following publication of a peer-reviewed paper documenting the software and presenting first tests of its performance (https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/12/6/769). This is the first software enabling a wide variety of urban stakeholders (i.e., not only air quality specialists) to estimate quantitatively the site-specific impacts of roadside vegetation barriers on local exposure to proximate vehicular pollution via changes in pollutant dispersion close to source. At time of writing - 9 months after launch - the GI4RAQ Platform has over 170 registered users. It is, for example, currently in use by: - Transport for London, in partnership with the Greater London Authority, on a public-realm improvement scheme in a London borough - Liverpool City Council, in partnership with The Mersey Forest and Liverpool ONE (Grosvenor Group) on a scheme in central Liverpool It has already been used for GI4RAQ feasibility studies commissioned in relation to: - 2x West Midlands Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) - A 1.2km long road improvement scheme in the West of England It has attracted 12 months' sponsorship (limited to web hosting) by Trees for Cities. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/news/latest/2021/07/open-source-software-to-help-cities-plant-in-pursui... |
| Description | Reasons to be cheerful 2020 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Podcast: Ed Milliband and Geoff Lloyd interview A.R. MacKenzie: "reasons to be cheerful", released 28/7/2019. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://play.acast.com/s/reasonstobecheerful/9dac8b6b-545d-4c3e-84ab-f2c05db7ca15 |
| Description | Scoping Meeting with UKCEH the potential extend their City Explorer Toolkit to include 'GI4RAQ' - 9th December 2021 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Meeting with Prof Laurence Jones, Principal Scientific Officer and Group Lead at the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (UKCEH) to scope the potential to integrate Green Infrastructure for Roadside Air Quality (GI4RAQ) into their City Explorer Toolkit; James Levine and his colleagues at the University of Birmingham have developed the GI4RAQ Platform, offering quantitative estimates of the site-specific impacts of roadside vegetation barriers on local exposure to proximate vehicular pollution via changes in dispersion. James Levine secured Prof Laurence Jones' partnership on a NERC KE Fellowship proposal (NERC ref. NE/X001857/1) - submitted 18th January 2022: 'NERC Knowledge Exchange Fellowship: QUantifiable and Equitable Services from Street Trees (QUESST) via Digital Twins'. Pending funding, they will together trial the integration of the GI4RAQ code in the GIS-based City Explorer Toolkit in a Birmingham Case Study - linking to existing UKCEH projects, REGREEN and DeSCIPHER. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Second presentation of the developing GI4RAQ Platform to Phil Christensen (Bentley - Digital Cities) (22/6/2020) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Second presentation of the developing GI4RAQ Platform to Phil Christensen (Bentley - Digital Cities), exploring potential Digital Twins collaboration (22/6/2020) |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | http://www.gi4raq.ac.uk |
| Description | The Air We Breathe |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The University of Birmingham has opened a major new public engagement venue called The Exchange. The inaugural exhibition, called "The Air We Breathe", drew on many of the grants being reported here, both for air quality and for forests. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021,2022 |
| URL | https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/the-exchange/index.aspx |