Sarah Lindley

• PhD, MSc, BA
• Professor (Full) at The University of Manchester

Ageing and urbanisation pose significant challenges for public health and urban planning. Ageing populations are at particular risk from hazards arising from urbanisation processes, some of which are in turn exacerbated by climate change. One approach for mitigating the negative effects of urbanisation on ageing populations is the leveraging of the...

Participatory Mapping encompasses a broad spectrum of methods, each with advantages and limitations that can influence the degree to which the target audience is able to participate and the veracity of the data collected. Whilst being an efficient means to gather spatial data, the accessibility of online methods is limited by digital divides. Conve...

Participatory mapping emerged from a need for more inclusive methods of collecting spatial data with the intention of democratizing the decision-making process. It encompasses a range of methods including mental mapping, sketch mapping, and participatory geographic information systems. There has been a rapid increase in uptake of participatory mapp...

The use of local knowledge adds value to the decision-making process, for which public participatory GIS (PPGIS) are widely deployed. However, there are often issues in the way that PPGIS are designed, particularly with respect to the type of spatial representation used. We propose “informed interfaces” as a novel approach to PPGIS interface design...

Canopy phenology is sensitive to variability in local environmental settings. In temperate climates, urban phenological processes and their determinants are relatively well understood. Equivalent understanding of processes in tropical urban settings is, however, less resolved. In this paper, we explore the influence of local urban environmental cha...

Land use regression (LUR) is a widely used method to develop prediction models in environmental sciences. However, the process of creating and applying LUR models is repetitive and time-consuming. The XLUR tool was developed to automate this process, while at the same time providing a detailed log of the model building process for reproducibility,...

Background Greenspace exposures are often measured using single exposure metrics, which can lead to conflicting results. Existing methodologies are limited in their ability to estimate greenspace exposure comprehensively. We demonstrate new methods for estimating single and combined greenspace exposure metrics, representing multiple exposure types...

Biodiversity is a cornerstone of human health and well-being. However, while evidence of the contributions of nature to human health is rapidly building, research into how biodiversity relates to human health remains limited in important respects. In particular, a better mechanistic understanding of the range of pathways through which biodiversity...

Knowledge about the impacts of urban heat islands (UHI) and associated thermal gradients on vegetation seasonality (i.e. phenology) is vital for understanding spatial patterns in vegetation ecosystem functions. However, in contrast to temperate cites, there is little evidence to show how UHI influences landscape phenological processes in the tropic...

The Urban Heat Island effect has been the focus of several studies concerned with the effects of urbanisation on human and ecosystem health. Humidity, however, remains much less studied, although it is useful for characterising human thermal comfort, the Urban Dryness Island effect and vegetation development. Furthermore, variability in microscale...

Urban phenological studies are often used for spatial and temporal analysis of urban heat islands. However, plants growing in urban microenvironmental conditions can also be used for the assessment of future climate change impacts on phenology more generally. Much urban phenological research is undertaken in cities experiencing temperate climates w...

Urban green infrastructure and its ecosystem services are often conceptualised in terms of a predominantly western perspective of cities and their wider social, economic and environmental challenges. However, the benefits which are derived from urban ecosystems are equally – if not more – important in the cities of the developing world. Cities in s...

Delineation of flood risk hotspots can be considered as one of the first steps in an integrated methodology for urban flood risk management and mitigation. This paper presents a step-by-step methodology in a GIS-based framework for identifying flooding risk hotspots for residential buildings. This is done by overlaying a map of potentially flood-pr...

Chapter published in The IPBES regional assessment report on biodiversity and ecosystem services for Africa, pp. 1-76

Addis Ababa is a highland city with varied topography and landscape features. The mountains that surround the city are covered with urban forest of different types. These forests are providing various ecosystem services for the urban and peri-urban population of the city. Apart from surface temperature regulating function of the green spaces of Add...

Characterizing the urban environment through urban morphology types (UMTs) can help to decide on what parts of urban areas should be conserved. The aim of this study was to map and detect changes in UMTs and land surface cover in the city of Addis Ababa. UMT maps for 2006 and 2011 were produced by digitizing ortho-rectified aerial photographs. Elev...

This paper examines the urban heat island intensity in detail in the city of Manchester, UK. An increasing intensity is found over time. The urban heat island intensity (UHII) data is examined in more detail giving relationships between weather parameters, cloud cover, wind speed and the urban morphology. The urban heat island intensity in Manchest...

Climate change projections estimate a rise of approximately 3°C by the 2080s for most of the UK (medium emissions scenario at 50% probability level, 1961-1990 baseline). Warming is a particular concern for urban areas due to urban densification and the Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect. To counteract the UHI, one adaptation strategy for urban areas...

This study developed a walking network for the Greater Manchester area (UK). The walking network allows routes to be calculated either based on the shortest duration or based on the lowest cumulative nitrogen dioxide (NO2) or particulate matter (PM10) exposure. The aim of this study was to analyse the costs and benefits of faster routes versus lowe...

Rapid urbanization, higher density and more compact cities have brought about a new science of urban climatology. An understanding of the mapping of this phenomenon is crucial for urban planners. The book brings together experts in the field of Urban Climatic Mapping to provide the state of the art understanding on how urban climatic knowledge can...

In this paper, we develop and apply a multi-dimensional vulnerability assessment framework for understanding the impacts of climate change-induced hazards in Sub-Saharan African cities. The research was carried out within the European/African FP7 project CLimate change and Urban Vulnerability in Africa, which investigated climate change-induced ris...

The book presents results of CLUVA (CLimate Change and Urban Vulnerability in Africa), a large European Commission funded research project (2010-2013). The project aimed to develop a better understanding of the risks and impacts of climate change related hazards to African cities, assess their vulnerability to these risks, and identify innovative s...

The aim of this study was to determine the effect of six traffic-related air pollution metrics (nitrogen dioxide, nitrogen oxides, particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter <10 μm (PM 10 ), PM 2.5 , coarse particulate matter and PM 2.5 absorbance) on childhood asthma and wheeze prevalence in five European birth cohorts: MAAS (England, UK), BA...

This chapter explores the state of the art in existing climate change risk, vulnerability, and adaptation assessment tools, with a focus on web-based tools. It then details the development and application of two online decision support tools created for climate change adaptation planning in cities – a Risk and Vulnerability Assessment Tool and Surf...

Urban green infrastructure provides important regulating ecosystem services, such as temperature and flood regulation, and thus, has the potential to increase the resilience of African cities to climate change. Differing characteristics of urban areas can be conceptualised and subsequently mapped through the idea of urban morphology types (UMTs) –...

Land use regression (LUR) models have mostly been developed to explain intra-urban variations in air pollution based on often small local monitoring campaigns. Transferability of LUR models from city to city has been investigated, but little is known about the performance of models based on large numbers of monitoring sites covering a large area. T...

The urban heat island intensity (difference between a semi-rural and urban dry bulb air temperature, urban heat island intensity) has been analysed for Manchester using data from 1996 to 2011. The semi-rural sites were airfields and the urban site was 2 km from the centre of Manchester. Although the urban site was not as developed as the city centr...

Identifying urban flooding risk hotspots is one of the first steps in an integrated methodology for urban flood risk assessment and mitigation. This work employs three GIS-based frameworks for identifying urban flooding risk hotspots for residential buildings and urban corridors. This is done by overlaying a map of potentially flood-prone areas [es...

Evidence on the long-term effects of air pollution exposure on childhood allergy is limited. We investigated the association between air pollution exposure and allergic sensitization to common allergens in children followed prospectively during the first 10 years of life. Five European birth cohorts participating in the European Study of Cohorts fo...

Runoff and rainfall quality was compared between an aged intensive green roof and an adjacent conventional roof surface. Nutrient concentrations in the runoff were generally below Environmental Quality Standard (EQS) values and the green roof exhibited [Formula: see text] retention. Cu, Pb and Zn concentrations were in excess of EQS values for the...

Epidemiological studies on the effect of urban air pollution on childhood asthma have shown conflicting results and so far no consistent association has emerged. However, a common limitation in previous studies has been exposure misclassification leading to uncertainties in risk estimates.The aim of this study was to analyse the effects of long-ter...

The vegetation, water and open spaces within and around African cities provide many benefits for their inhabitants. Without this “green infrastructure” our cities would be hotter, more uncomfortable, more prone to flooding, produce less food, and be less attractive places to live, work, visit and invest. Yet across African cities we are witnessing...

Background: Findings from previous studies on the effects of air pollution exposure on lung function during childhood have been inconsistent. A common limitation has been the quality of exposure data used, and few studies have modeled exposure longitudinally throughout early life. Objectives: We sought to study the long-term effects of exposure...

Land Use Regression (LUR) models have been used to describe/model spatial variability of annual mean concentrations of traffic related pollutants like nitrogen dioxide (NO2), nitrogen oxides (NOx/) and particulate matter (PM). No models have yet been published of elemental composition. As part of the ESCAPE project, we measured the elemental compos...

Green roofs are increasingly being utilised as urban climate adaptation measures given good evidence of their passive cooling effects. Shading of conventional building surfaces, higher albedo and latent cooling from evapotranspiration mean that vegetated surfaces can be used to significantly lower surface and air temperatures in cities. The extent...

This work employs two GIS-based frameworks for identifying the urban residential hot spots. This is done by overlaying a map of potentially flood prone areas (the topographic wetness index, TWI) and a map of urban morphology types (UMT) classified as residential. The topographic wetness index (TWI, Qin et al. 2011) allows for the delineation of a p...

CLUVA (CLimate change and Urban Vulnerability in Africa; http://www.cluva.eu/) is a 3 years project, funded by the European Commission in 2010. Its main objective is the estimate of the impacts of climate changes in the next 40 years at urban scale in Africa. The mission of CLUVA is to develop methods and knowledge to assess risks cascading from cl...

Urban green structure provides important regulating ecosystem services, such as temperature and flood regulation, and thus, has the potential to increase the resilience of African cities to climate change. Green structures within urban areas are not only limited to discrete units associated with recreational parks, agricultural areas and open space...

Land use regression models (LUR) frequently use leave-one-out-cross-validation (LOOCV) to assess model fit, but recent studies suggested that this may overestimate predictive ability in independent datasets. Our aim was to evaluate LUR models for nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and particulate matter (PM) components exploiting the high correlation between c...

The vegetation, water and open spaces within and around African cities provide many benefits for their inhabitants. Without this “green infrastructure” our cities would be hotter, more uncomfortable, more prone to flooding, produce less food, and be less attractive places to live, work, visit and invest. Yet across African cities we are witnessing...

Land Use Regression (LUR) models have been used increasingly for modeling small-scale spatial variation in air pollution concentrations and estimating individual exposure for participants of cohort studies. Within the ESCAPE project, concentrations of PM2.5, PM2.5 absorbance, PM10, and PMcoarse were measured in 20 European study areas at 20 sites p...

Urban particulate pollution in the UK remains at levels which have the potential to cause negative impacts on human health. There is a need, therefore, for mitigation strategies within cities, especially with regards to vehicular sources. The use of vegetation as a passive filter of urban air has been previously investigated, however green roof veg...

Land Use Regression (LUR) models have been used increasingly for modeling small-scale spatial variation in air pollution concentrations and estimating individual exposure for participants of cohort studies. Within the ESCAPE project, concentrations of PM(2.5), PM(2.5) absorbance, PM(10), and PM(coarse) were measured in 20 European study areas at 20...

This report presents results from the first stage of the Task 2.2 work programme: urban characterisation and green infrastructure mapping. The term green structure map is used in this document to differentiate between outputs from this stage and outputs being covered in a later Task 2.2 deliverable (D2.9). The work generates new data resources for...

A common problem in epidemiological studies on air pollution is exposure misclassification, because investigators often assume exposure is equivalent to outdoor concentrations at participants’ homes or at the nearest urban monitor. The aims of this study were: (1) to develop a new microenvironmental exposure model (MEEM), combining time-activity d...

An understanding of the energy exchanges occurring in urban areas is important to predicting the results of building and surface alterations. Typically, urban climate models are implemented as numerical models, but are often limited in their ability to accurately represent the area considered. This paper presents a model of an energy exchange for a...

This report is for CLUVA Deliverable 2.6, “International evidence of the ecosystem services of urban green infrastructure in different climate zones”, part of Task 2.2 on urban ecosystems. This activity is primarily an initial literature review of existing work on urban ecosystem services. It collects an evidence base of international case studies,...

Green infrastructure maps for selected case studies and a report with an urban green infrastructure mapping methodology adapted to African cities

The public health implications of a warming urban environment mean that appropriate action by planners, designers and health workers will be necessary to minimise risk under future climate scenarios. Data at an appropriate spatial scale are required by user groups in order to identify key areas of vulnerability. Thermal mapping of a UK urban conurb...

A common limitation of epidemiological studies on health effects of air pollution is the quality of exposure data available for study participants. Exposure data derived from urban monitoring networks is usually not adequately representative of the spatial variation of pollutants, while personal monitoring campaigns are often not feasible, due to t...

Over recent years land use regression (LUR) has become a frequently used method in air pollution exposure studies, as it can model intra-urban variation in pollutant concentrations at a fine spatial scale. However, very few studies have used the LUR methodology to also model the temporal variation in air pollution exposure. The aim of this study is...

This paper presents two case studies on the impact of climate change on upland landscapes in England (footpath erosion in the Lake District National Park, and moorland wildfires in the Peak District National Park) and considers the negative implications for the visitor economy in these areas. Areas of natural beauty such as the examples presented h...

An important component of urban green space functionality is the way in which such spaces are perceived and used by urban residents. Use is affected by many factors including the nature and dynamics of urban morphology at the city and neighbourhood scale. This paper demonstrates a method for conducting analyses of green space socio-ecological funct...

Assessment of climate change risks and vulnerability is essential in order to inform and implement appropriate adaptation strategies. Disastrous effects of extreme weather events such as the heat waves across Europe in 2003 highlight the adaptation imperative. Regional spatial planning and urban design can help to reduce the vulnerability of commun...

Peer review

A methodology is presented and validated through which long-term fixed site air quality measurements are used to characterise and remove temporal signals in sample-based measurements which have good spatial coverage but poor temporal resolution. The work has been carried out specifically to provide a spatial dataset of atmospheric ultrafine particl...

A model is proposed for determining the temporal and spatial patterns of anthropogenic heat fluxes in UK urban areas. It considers buildings, traffic, and metabolic heat flux sources and has been evaluated to a good accuracy against alternative data for the Greater Manchester area in the UK. Results are presented at spatial resolution of 200× 200m...

Changes to UK policy mean that some local authorities (LAs) are now required to demonstrate an adaptive response to current and future climate impacts, in order to manage risks to service delivery, the public, local communities, local infrastructure, businesses and the natural environment, and to make the most of new opportunities (e.g. National In...

This article was submitted without an abstract, please refer to the full-text PDF file.

This article was submitted without an abstract, please refer to the full-text PDF file.

This chapter reviews the wildfire problem in UK moorlands and heaths. It uses the Peak District National Park (PDNP) as a detailed case study to examine the spatial pattern and timing of wildfire occurrence, as well as associated policy implications.

Urban areas are faced with distinctive, or ‘systemic’, issues arising from their unique social, environmental and economic characteristics. Examples include an altered energy exchange and hydrology which contribute to the urban heat island and an enhanced surface runoff; due, in part, to an altered surface cover, with more built and fewer vegetated...

To help improve the well-being of the local people, a joint Vietnamese-UK team set out to establish a way of estimating soil and nutrient losses under different land management scenarios, using field data extrapolated through remote sensing and GIS, to obtain catchment-wide estimates of the impact of land cover change. Immigration from remote provi...

Several parts of Binh Phuóc Province, southern Vietnam, suffer from degraded soils and vegetation as a result of both natural erosion of weak mud rocks and sandstones and intensive human activity, especially through land clearing for agriculture on unstable slopes, deforestation, and abandonment of poor farmland. The underlying cause of this land d...

Many high quality landscapes can be found in the North West region of England, including those of international significance such as the Lake District National Park. These natural assets are recognised by the regional tourism strategy as particularly important, as they are a major determinant for visitors within, and to, the region. However, with t...

There are many challenges to developing and delivering effective climate change adaptation strategies for urban areas. Some are associated with a lack of available tools to help understand the spatial and temporal dimensions of climate related problems, while others are associated with the limitations of existing structures and frameworks through w...

This paper presents a conurbation‐scale risk assessment methodology which aims to provide a screening tool to assist with planning for climate change‐related risks in the urban environment. This work has been undertaken as part of a wider, interdisciplinary project, Adaptation Strategies for Climate Change in the Urban Environment (ASCCUE). The mai...

Changes to our climate could have profound implications for tourism, the leisure industry, as well as the wider visitor economy. Having a better understanding of those future impacts and how best to adapt to them is critical. This study is the first attempt in the UK to systematically assess the likely impacts of climate change on this important an...

Following the introduction of the national Climate Change Programme, initiatives that seek to mitigate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are now well established in the UK. However, there is increasing recognition that adaptation to some level of climate change will be necessary, even if a reduction in emissions is successful. This is inevitable as mu...

This paper describes methodologies for assessing risk at conurbation and neighbourhood scales that have been developed in order to provide urban planners with a toolkit for the assessment of risk due to climatic hazards. The methodologies treat risk as a function of hazard, vulnerability and exposure, all three of which elements are influenced by c...

There are many modelling methods dedicated to the estimation of spatial patterns in pollutant concentrations, each with their distinctive advantages and disadvantages. The derivation of a surface of air quality values from monitoring data alone requires the conversion of point-based data from a limited number of monitoring stations to a continuous...

Policy developments in the UK and the European Union (EU) now require local authorities to engage the general public within the whole process of local air quality management (AQM). Indeed, this is considered to be one of the means by which air quality issues can gain public support and help ensure future improvements. One of the outcomes of this is...

A study of English Nature's Accessible Natural Greenspace Standards model investigated whether such a model is needed; barriers and limitations to its adoption; and means of implementation. It was concluded that English Nature should improve communication with local authorities, and that greenspace planners and managers need effective decision-supp...

The new English regional governance framework presents fresh opportunities to direct regional development in a more sustainable direction. However, for the North West region it is yet to be seen how these aspirations can be reconciled with the strong 'pro-growth' aims of the regional economic strategy. Within this context, the nature and findings o...

Atlas Regional Interactive Sustainability Atlas project allows users to explore the north-west region of England both within the present as a gateway to fostering a greater understanding of developmental issues (Explorer) and also into the future using a scenario model based on the Canadian QUEST software (FutureQUEST). The final prototype model wi...

This paper examines the nature and extent of uncertainties associated with spatially resolved emission estimates with particular reference to an examination of alternative emissions data. Evidence is taken from recent research into the development of generic methodologies for the estimation of emissions of key urban pollutants from anthropogenic so...

Spatially resolved estimates of combustion and non-combustion related emissions of CO, NOx, VOCs and PM from road transport sources have been made for the North West region of England in 1994. These have been generated using detailed emissions models for combustion related emissions of CO, NOx, VOCs and PM which take into account the different emis...

In the light of recent episodes of poor air quality in many of the U.K.'s major urban areas, concern has been expressed regarding the apparent inability of existing air quality control procedures to effectively tackle contemporary scenarios. As a result of this, a new philosophy for air quality control has been sought which can provide a solid basi...

This paper considers the value of applying an alternative pro rata methodology to the estimation of atmospheric emissions from a given regional or local area. Such investigations into less time and resource intensive means of providing estimates in comparison to traditional methods are important due to the potential role of new methods in the devel...

To investigate the spatial and temporal variability of acid deposition in the urban environment a small-scale intensive network of bulk collectors has been deployed around Greater Manchester, UK. This network has been in operation since 1986. The concentrations and deposition rates of non-marine (nm) sulphate, nitrate, ammonium, calcium and hydroge...

Most estimates of emission are concerned with the nation state level. This paper will discuss methods utilised in the estimates of emissions to the atmosphere of sulphur dioxide, volatile organic compounds and oxides of nitrogen from a densely populated and heavily industrialised region of the United Kingdom. Data on power generation, industrial pl...

This paper centres on research associated with FutureQUEST, one of a suite of projects under the umbrella of AltasNW that aim to investigate and model a range of development processes operating within the North West region of England. The project, funded by the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), focuses on the developmen...