4: Environmental Quality

Sustainability Issue Three set out to find out how urban living affects local people. Does the public love the non-stop buzz of living in an urban area?  Or do the 24-hour noise and pollution levels drive us up the wall?  Those were just some of the questions VivaCity2020 asked city centre residents in a bid to establish the environmental and social effects of living in mixed-use urban areas.

Case Studies

Researchers conducted extensive case studies in Clerkenwell, London, Manchester and the Devonshire Quarter within Sheffield to explore the links between environmental quality and other aspects of urban sustainability.

Methods

In collaboration with the University of Salford and the University of Sheffield, residents were interviewed. With the aim of discovering how urban living affects city residents, researchers made sound recordings of city areas, monitored pollution of both air and noise, including monitoring environmental conditions inside people’s homes. City centre residents photographed important aspects and features of their neighbourhoods, both positive and negative. Over 50 city centre residents were involved in the project alongside the intensive monitoring of a number of locations within case study areas.

Findings

Local ‘door-step’ issues (such as litter, graffiti, fly-tipping) appear to be critical in decreasing the perceived quality of the outdoor environment, and quality of life. People’s perceptions of their urban environment may therefore be significantly improved by addressing these ‘door-step’ issues.

Click here for a list of Sustainability Issue Four's Academic Publications.

Tools

Designing Environmental Quality Into City Centre Living Case Studies

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Environmental Quality: Case Study Methodologies

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