A new research project led by the University of Strathclyde will examine the impact of extreme temperatures on public health, housing quality and the economy.
The STARPOL (Socio-Spatial Thermal Justice) project will combine architectural, engineering, psychological, legal and genetic knowledge to shape new, improved strategies and policies for the housing and public health sectors. It will take into account the cumulative effects of climate change, severe health problems and the cost of living in the emergence of ‘thermal injustice’.
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The issue is multi-faceted and covers areas including building design, energy systems, wellbeing and legal rights. The research aims to develop a new model for addressing inequalities in housing and to offer new insights for policymakers into thermal justice, which is defined as fairness in experiencing comfortable temperatures.
The project has received funding of £1.18million from UKRI (UK Research & Innovation) and also involves partners at the Universities of Edinburgh, Oxford and Bath.
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‘Human exposure to thermal extremes is linked to rising chronic health conditions, hospital admissions and, in some instances, death,’ said Professor Sonja Dragojlovic-Oliveira, of Strathclyde’s Department of Architecture, STARPOL’s lead researcher. ‘The challenge is not just a housing issue; it is also a design, legal, biological and psychological problem. This project will co-develop a new interdisciplinary model that will deliver new knowledge for designers and the housing sector to account for diversity of thermal need and understanding the implications of thermal injustice.’
Public Health Scotland, Architecture & Design Scotland, Julie Godefroy Sustainability, research company terraXcube, property developers Bywater, energy analyst Regen and engineering consultancy Max Fordham are also partner organisations in the project.
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Among the researchers who will work on the project is Anna Chatzimichali, a senior lecturer in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Bath. Chatzimichali, who specialises in home energy management and the societal impact of technology, is leading work examining how designers make decisions about thermal environments and how those decisions are experienced by people in their everyday lives.
‘Design decisions are embedded, quite literally, in the spaces we inhabit and the temperatures we endure,’ she said. ‘I am very excited to lead an important part of the project that examines designers’ cognitive processes and embodied thermal experiences to reveal how power and accountability shape everyday health and wellbeing.’