Projects

Current

• IDEAMAPS (2023-2026)
  Funded by the Gates Foundation

  Collaborators: African Population and Health Research Center, UN Habitat Global Urban Observatory, Community Mappers, iMMAP, and Justice and Empowerment Initiative.
  The IDEAMAPS Network creates citywide maps of deprivation and assets to support equitable urban development. Its projects enable stakeholders to use spatial data for community upgrading, advocacy, and monitoring, ensuring outputs are validated locally, comparable across cities, regularly updated, and accessible to drive inclusive and just urban transformation. GitHub

• Navigating Urban Ecologies: Mapping the Habitation Patterns and Socio-ecological Dynamics of Kittiwakes along the River Tyne (2025-2026)
  Funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC)

  Collaborator: Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art
  This project explores the urban ecology of kittiwakes along the River Tyne, examining their coexistence with Newcastle and Gateshead’s built environment. Using ethnography, GIS, and machine learning, it maps habitats and interactions, advancing a “more-than-human” approach to urban planning that promotes biodiversity, inclusivity, and sustainable coexistence in city design.

Completed

• Sensor-enhanced Housing Surveys (2024-2025)
  Funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)

  Collaborators: Understanding Society and Smart Energy Research Laboratory.
  This project links smart-meter and indoor sensor data with the Understanding Society survey to study how energy use, indoor environment, and household wellbeing interact. By deploying low-cost sensors measuring temperature, humidity, air quality, and noise, it develops a nationally representative dataset to examine fuel poverty, health, and energy efficiency across UK homes.

• SpaceEPC (2024-2025)
  Funded by the European Space Agency

  Collaborator: SatVu.
  This project develops a high-resolution thermal-imagery-based “Heat Loss Index” (HLI) to identify buildings with significant energy wastage. Using satellite MWIR imagery at ~3.5 m ground sampling distance, deep-learning analytics and a web/API interface, the tool supports retrofit decision-making, urban planning and investment risk assessment. The study is completed and has validated the methodology across UK cities.

• Participatory Neighbourhood Planning for the ‘Brown to Green’ Transition in Tyneside (2023-2024)
  Funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC)

  Collaborators: Port of Tyne Authority and Omanos Analytics.
  This project explores the regeneration of post-industrial coastal towns around the Port of Tyne, integrating community values into energy transition planning. Through participatory mapping, walking ethnographies, and scenario building, it develops a socio-ecological framework and practical toolkit for inclusive coastal renewal, promoting community-led, energy-inclusive, and equitable regeneration strategies applicable across similar regions. GitHub

• Gender Inclusive Cities (2022-2025)
  Funded by the Research Grant Seedcorn Fund, Northumbria University

  This project investigates gender walks and participatory planning as methods for knowledge-gathering in urban environments. It tackles gender-based inequalities by examining the complexities of intersectional, gender-aware design, exploring the potential of ‘walk and talk’ as a responsive strategy. The method’s opportunities and limitations are evaluated through its implementation, the analysis of gathered insights, and the co-creation of design responses with participants. GitHub

• Park and Ride of OSU West Campus (2023)
  Funded by the Honda R&D Americas

  Collaborator:Central Ohio Transit Authority. This project analyses campus mobility patterns at The Ohio State University by modelling the Campus Area Bus Service (CABS) and parking usage. Using a transportation simulation, it maps weekly travel behaviours and forecasts future demand scenarios based on planned campus expansion, supporting more efficient and sustainable transport planning.

• Digital Energy Estimation Tool (2019)
  Funded by the Centre for Digital Built Britain

  This project develops a parametric LCA-BIM tool integrating operational and embodied energy analysis for sustainable building design. Using UK case studies, it finds embodied energy dominates early, then operational energy prevails. The interactive workflow identifies energy hotspots in real time, enhancing design-stage decisions beyond conventional BIM-based sustainability assessments. GitHub