Information on Loughborough

Major research project officially launched

Posted on 11/09/2009
University of Leicester

A Human Geographer at the University of Leicester is taking part in a national project looking at young people in sustainable communities, which was officially launched at the University of Warwick yesterday, 10th September.

'New Urbanisms, New Citizens: children and young people's everyday life and participation in sustainable communities' is a multi-disciplinary project, involving academics from the University of Warwick, The University of Northampton and the University of Leicester. It will explore the experiences of children and young people in new and rapidly expanding urban areas.

Funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, this project will run over three years and investigate the relationships between sustainable community regeneration, children's experience and mobility in new urban environments, together with children and young people's participation and citizenship in planning and design. The focus of the project is the issues and needs of children and young people aged 11-16 living in the Milton Keynes South Midlands (MKSM) Growth Area, which is projected to undergo some of the most rapid and extensive urban development of all the Growth Areas and to incorporate between 300,000-500,000 new dwellings by 2031. The project will in particular look at Mawsley 'Village': a new-build village of 900 homes located in the countryside between Northampton and Kettering; Oakley Vale: a development of suburban housing on the South-Eastern edge of Corby and Upton Meadows: a sustainable urban extension on the southwestern edge of Northampton. Finally, the Northampton Eastern District is an example of a "completed" development developed as part of the new town expansion scheme in the 1960s.

On Thursday 10th September, 2009 the research team, led by Professor Pia Christensen, University of Warwick, officially launched the start of this exciting project. The event included presentations from the team members as well as insights from several external speakers, including a representative from the Sustainable Development Commission. Delegates, including policy makers, key stakeholders in new urban developments and academics had the opportunity to comment on the proposed research. The project's leader, Professor Pia Christensen said: "So far we have very little knowledge about the experiences and lives of children and young people growing up in new urban communities. Today it is important to understand how we can create sustainable communities for all with children and young people