Green Cities, Resilient Urban Futures: mapping the urban morphology of Birmingham and applying this to Rio de Janiero

Imagine a future where our urban areas once more look green from space. The benefits of such green infrastructure for human health and urban climate resilience would be invaluable.

This Fellowship will consider the engineering solutions, technologies, and methods that can make this possible in two Biophilic Cities: Birmingham, UK, where the City Council is global leader in ecosystem services and green planning and development; and Rio de Janiero, Brazil, where the demand for ecosystem services and urban greening is immense. By 2040, 67% of the world population and 86% of the UK population will live in urban areas (UN, 2011), and outcomes of this project will be relevant for decision-makers in urban areas across the globe.

This PhD will combine remote sensing, aerial photographs and GIS to map the urban morphology of the Birmingham with respect to green infrastructure solutions (e.g. street trees along transport routes, grass roofs for residential dwellings). The methodology will then be applied to Rio de Janiero, Brazil.