Geography students learn about Upton, a sustainable urban development

Third year Geography students have been learning about sustainable urban development, with a focus on Upton, Northampton.

Dr Chris Holt outlines the history of the Upton Meadows development

Staff from Geography and Environmental Sciences have been monitoring the site since the initial stages of development. This means that students benefit directly from research carried out by their lecturers.

Dr Chris Holt explains how staff research has been used to inform local residents about sustainability at Upton

This week the students had a tour of the site, learning more about sustainable urban drainage systems, and about the experiences of young people living in Upton.

 

Learning about the sustainable urban drainage system (SUDS) at Upton

Students undertake lots of local fieldwork at Northampton, developing a range of subject-specific and transferable skills

Geography students research sustainable urban communities

Third year Geography students recently visited Upton, Northampton, to learn more about sustainable urban communities and sustainable urban drainage systems.

Third Year Geography students brave the February weather!

The fieldtrip took place as part of the Geographers at Work modules, which encourages students to reflect on how their learning in the classroom is applicable to real world jobs.

The fieldtrip was led by Dr Chris Holt, who has been researching the development at Upton for several years.

Geography students learn about sustainable housing development

Wrapped up warm!

Final year Geography students recently visited Upton, Northampton, to learn about sustainable housing.

Dr Chris Holt explains about the sustainable urban drainage system

Geography and Environmental Science staff have been researching this site for several years. This trip gave students insights into the sorts of work staff do when not teaching!

Thinking about access to facilities

Third year Geography students visit sustainable urban development

Third year Geography students recently visited the new housing development at Upton, Northampton, to learn more about this sustainable urban development.  Dr Chris Holt explained how the sustainable urban drainage system (‘SUDS’) works, and provided contextual information about the on-going housing development.  Students will be carrying out research projects about Upton over the next couple of months.

Third year students at the Upton development, Northampton

Photos from the field visit can be viewed here

Sharing Futures

Dr. John Horton is one of the partners in an exciting new project – ‘Sharing Futures’ (or, in Portuguese, ‘Partilhandø Futurøs’!) – funded by the Economic and Social Research Council. This project will bring together Brazilian Engineering Scientists and British Human Geographers to share expertise, develop learning/teaching resources and trial innovative research methods.

Dr John Horton welcoming people to the Sharing Futures summer school

An exciting programme of activities is planned for 2015-16. For example, on 24-26^th August, John helped to co-organise a three day summer school at University of Birmingham. The event brought together 25 international researchers interested in interdisciplinary and multigenerational approaches to sustainable urbanism. Delegates enjoyed presentations by leading thinkers and practitioners in this field, and engaged in some really productive and interesting discussions. Skype networking and presentations enabled delegates to engage with cutting edge research ongoing in São Paulo.

Delegates also went on a field trip to see examples of sustainable urban development in Northampton and Milton Keynes. At Upton Meadows, Dr. Janet Jackson gave a fascinating tour along the Sustainable Urban Drainage System (SUDS), while Henk van Aswegen of MK Discovery Centre provided a wealth of information about Milton Keynes’s eco-houses, landscapes, urban extensions, roundabouts and concrete cows!

Dr Janet Jackson explains about sustainable urban drainage systems and biodiversity in Upton

Attendees of the summer school, at the end of the tour of Upton

For more information about the ‘Sharing Futures’ programme, see: http://www.sharing-futures.com/

What’s up at Upton? Student conference

As part of a final year Geography module, students have been conducting research projects about Upton Meadows.  Upton Meadows is a sustainable urban expansion located on the western outskirts of Northampton.  The development began in 2001, with the aim that it would be an exemplar of sustainable urban growth.  The development includes new homes, a primary school, a country park, and a sustainable urban drainage system.  Staff within the Department for Environmental and Geographical Sciences have been carrying out research at the site from the very beginning, and the students’ projects feed in to our on-going research projects.

Examples of presentation titles from the 'What's Up at Upton' student conference.

 

The student conference is an annual event.  This year ten groups of students gave presentations on their research.  The topics ranged from exploring perceptions of sustainable architecture to evaluating the efficiency of the drainage systems and retention ponds.