This blog by GCHU intern, Moli Birkinshaw, argues that Britain’s ambitious plans to retrofit millions of buildings face a major obstacle of not having enough skilled workers with the right expertise and calls for sustained investment in training, stronger industry standards, and policies that create reliable demand for retrofit.
Planning for Health: Lessons from the New Towns
In this blog, GCHU intern, Grace Baldauf, explores lessons from the UK’s New Towns, showing how urban planning can support health through green spaces, walkability, recreation, and access to healthcare; highlighting the need to plan for the long-term health and changing needs of communities.
Imagined Community: is village life just a dream for people in modern towns and cities?
In this blog, GCHU intern, Greta Stone details ways in which the social functions of historic settlements can influence and be adapted to produce newer, often larger modern developments.
Data centres: How bad can they really be?
This blog by GCHU intern, Ronan Wilkinson, examines the environmental and public-health impacts of data centres, particularly their growing energy and water demands driven by the rapid development of AI.
Exploring the significance of cross-industry collaboration when building new towns
Drawing on the findings of a scoping review, this blog by GCHU intern, Ava Peralta, argues that the transformative potential of cross-industry collaboration in urban built environment is limited not only by practical and behavioural challenges, but also by a shallow diversity of ontological perspectives.
Is London’s estate regeneration programme socially and environmentally sustainable?
In this blog, GCHU Research Associate Timothy J. Dixon examines whether continued estate regeneration (such as the Kidbrooke Village project) in London offers sustainable outcomes for residents.
Is Oxford an Age-Friendly City? A Student Perspective
In this blog, GCHU intern, Stefania Malos reflects on the lessons she learnt from the Age-Friendly Oxford project during her internship at the GCHU.
Healthy cities are not built – they are lived: Enactment, negotiation and urban systems in Barton and beyond
In this blog, GCHU Visiting Research Associate, Dr Mirjam Schindler, reflects on how healthy cities are not simply designed, but continuously enacted through everyday socio-spatial practices, negotiation, and wider urban systems, drawing on research from Barton and beyond.
Urban Form, Climate and Health: Reflections from Oxford and the Global South
In this blog, GCHU Global Visiting Research Associate, Dr. Karol Carminatti Baumgärtner, explores how urban form, climate and public health can be integrated to support more effective planning in small and medium-sized cities facing the climate crisis.
Visions for reconstructing Gaza’s urban infrastructure: Phoenix from the ashes?
In this blog, GCHU Research Associate Timothy J. Dixon examines the competing visions for Gaza’s future and looks at the implications for reconstructing urban infrastructure, including health services.