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All Outputs (78)

Renting in the informal city: The role of dignity in upgrading backyard dwellings in Cape Town, South Africa (2023)
Journal Article

In South Africa, informal rental accommodation constructed in the backyards of formal houses is the fastest growing housing segment. These backyard dwellings (BDs) are makeshift structures made from timber frames, metal sheets or wooden planks. Despi... Read More about Renting in the informal city: The role of dignity in upgrading backyard dwellings in Cape Town, South Africa.

Making demands on government: Theorizing determinants of backyard residents' collective action in Cape Town, South Africa (2023)
Journal Article

Informality is growing with Africa's rapid urbanization. Much like residents of other types of informal housing, backyard dwellers face overall poor living conditions and political marginalization. However, backyard residents are in an ambiguous lega... Read More about Making demands on government: Theorizing determinants of backyard residents' collective action in Cape Town, South Africa.

Towards a combined physical and social evaluation of climate vulnerability in coastal urban megacities (2023)
Journal Article

Coastal urban megacities across Asia face significant risks from climate change, including coastal flooding, high temperatures, urban heat island impacts and air pollution. These hazards are associated with negative impacts on infrastructure, communi... Read More about Towards a combined physical and social evaluation of climate vulnerability in coastal urban megacities.

Co-designing a social robot in a special educational needs school: Listening to the ambitions of autistic children and their teachers (2022)
Journal Article

Social robots have the potential to support autistic school children with their wellbeing. This research reveals how a co-design approach with autistic children and their teachers was undertaken. Focus groups with autistic children and teachers colla... Read More about Co-designing a social robot in a special educational needs school: Listening to the ambitions of autistic children and their teachers.

“It’s important to think of Pepper as a teaching aid or resource external to the classroom”: A social robot in a school for autistic children (2022)
Journal Article

For a period of 3 weeks in June 2021, we embedded a social robot (Softbank Pepper) in a Special Educational Needs (SEN) school for autistic children. The robot’s behaviours and integration into the school were co-designed with the children and teache... Read More about “It’s important to think of Pepper as a teaching aid or resource external to the classroom”: A social robot in a school for autistic children.

Health, economic and social development challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic: Strategies for multiple and interconnected issues (2022)
Journal Article

The COVID-19-pandemic-related economic and social crises are leading to huge challenges for all spheres of human life across the globe. Various challenges highlighted by this pandemic include, but are not limited to, the need for global health cooper... Read More about Health, economic and social development challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic: Strategies for multiple and interconnected issues.

A multi-data geospatial approach for understanding flood risk in the coastal plains of Tamil Nadu, India (2022)
Journal Article

The coastal plains of Tamil Nadu, India, are prone to floods, the most common disaster experienced in this region almost every year. This research aims to identify flood risks in the coastal plain region of Tamil Nadu, delineated through a watershed... Read More about A multi-data geospatial approach for understanding flood risk in the coastal plains of Tamil Nadu, India.

Are current UK coastal defences good enough for Tomorrow? An assessment of vulnerability to coastal erosion (2022)
Journal Article

Coastal vulnerability and its physical, economic and social consequences at national and international scales is of high scientific, political and policy interest. Anthropogenic climate change and coastal erosion threaten the very fabric of a society... Read More about Are current UK coastal defences good enough for Tomorrow? An assessment of vulnerability to coastal erosion.

The great lockdown in the wake of COVID-19 and its implications: Lessons for low and middle-income countries (2022)
Journal Article

Concern for public health has been growing with the increasing volume of cases of COVID-19 in India. To combat this pandemic, India has implemented nationwide lockdowns, and unlocking phases continue with certain restrictions in different parts of th... Read More about The great lockdown in the wake of COVID-19 and its implications: Lessons for low and middle-income countries.

Indicators of healthy architecture: Lessons for practice from a systematic literature review (2021)
Presentation / Conference Contribution

This themed paper develops the findings of Indicators of Healthy Architecture—a Systematic Literature Review (https://doi.org/10.1007/s11524-020-00469-z) including consideration of implications for built environment practitioners and how this informs... Read More about Indicators of healthy architecture: Lessons for practice from a systematic literature review.

UNICEF guidance on AI for children: Application to the design of a social robot for and with autistic children (2021)
Presentation / Conference Contribution

For a period of three weeks in June 2021, we embedded a social robot (Softbank Pepper) in a Special Educational Needs (SEN) school, with a focus on supporting the well-being of autistic children. Our methodology to design and embed the robot among th... Read More about UNICEF guidance on AI for children: Application to the design of a social robot for and with autistic children.

Renting in the makeshift city: Governance, politics and technologies of backyard rental housing in Cape Town, South Africa (2021)
Presentation / Conference Contribution

Renting is an important yet often forgotten reality of the 'makeshift city'. Millions of poor households rely on cheap rental accommodation in informal settlements, townships or inner-city buildings to get a foothold in the city. Informal rental acco... Read More about Renting in the makeshift city: Governance, politics and technologies of backyard rental housing in Cape Town, South Africa.