Air pollution is a public health concern accountable for numerous health problems and tens of thousands of premature deaths per year in the UK. At home, air pollution is variable and is determined by the building’s characteristics, people’s behaviour and indoor sources. Though air pollution is a problem faced by everybody, those living in neighbourhoods with low socioeconomic status (SES) are more likely to be exposed to higher air pollution levels.
Policies to mitigate and adapt to climate change, as well as to achieve the UK’s commitment to Net Zero, require disruptive and often costly interventions to the fabric, heating and ventilation systems of existing homes. However, there is currently limited understanding of how these modifications will affect indoor environmental exposures, such as air quality, relative humidity and air temperature. Additionally, there is a need to better understand residents’ perceptions and experiences of these retrofitting measures, including their acceptability, ease of use, and any unintended consequences they may encounter that could ultimately impact indoor environment quality.
Understanding how residents, particularly those from vulnerable communities, perceive their home environment before and after their homes have been retrofitted or after they have been relocated to retrofitted homes is essential.
The successful applicant will:
- Conduct a literature review of health and well-being impacts of retrofitting interventions, focusing on initiatives implemented in socioeconomically disadvantage neighbourhoods.
- Co-develop opportunities for meaningful participant’s engagement, refining research questions, design methodologies and collaboratively disseminating findings and recommendations.
- Explore how people’s perceptions of retrofitting measures, health and household energy consumption are formed and maintained, identifying the experiences, communication channels, and message content that influence these understandings.
- Evaluate the effectiveness of advice and information provided to households with retrofitted homes, exploring associations between environmental awareness, behaviours and various demographic characteristics (e.g.,education level and ethnicity).
How to apply:
- Details on how to apply can be found in here: https://www.findaphd.com/phds/project/how-do-retrofitting-practices-transform-the-lives-and-environmental-conditions-of-racialised-and-socioeconomically-disadvantaged-communities/?p181726
- Applicants should also complete the online LISS-DTP Diversity Monitoring Form
- The closing date for applications is 23 February 2025.
- Interviews will be held on w/c 10 March 2025.
- This project is offered as full-time only.
- For any queries contact valentina.lotti@imperial.ac.uk