Revealing local economies in London: methodological challenges, future directions

The economy of London is often characterised as global, productive and competitive on a world stage, the engine of the nation. It is also experienced daily by workers and other citizens driving vehicles, serving in shops, caring for each other, cleaning, starting businesses and struggling to succeed or even survive. The city’s economy generates immense wealth but also alarming levels of in-work poverty. Official accounts of the economy tend to emphasise high-productivity sectors, increasingly concentrated in office blocks in the centre, while half the activity is distributed through the city and made up of small enterprises and interlocking sub-contractors. The pressure on these activities is increasingly intense because of the inflated prices which land commands if shifted into use for housing development. Thus there has been a great deal of displacement in recent decades and there is growing controversy about how much workspace London can afford to lose. Furthermore the economy faces two major uncertainties in the next few years: the revision of business rates which threatens many enterprises and the consequences of Brexit, via changes in the terms of trade, inflation and curbs on labour mobility. Researchers at UCL’s Bartlett School have just published the report on a small research project evaluating the various ways in which the diverse economies of London are understood, studied and planned for. Principal findings of the research are that Top-down studies of the London economy fail to connect with the growing number of Borough-level and bottom-up studies of economic activity in localities. This seriously weakens policy-making. Community groups and local business networks often have a strong understanding of the inter-connections between activities but these tend not to be assimilated into policy studies. Some standardisation of methodologies used in local studies would help to build a strategic picture and would generate the kind of local audits which need to preceed and inform policy decisions. Statisticians, planners and economists need to give more thought to some of the key concepts and categories which are used or needed in the analysis and understanding of local economies at various scales. There is great potential for productive discussion among statisticians, planners and economists at the various levels of government, resident and business communities in localities, and researchers. A shared repository of studies is needed so that best practice can more easily be shared and to avoid each study reinventing the wheel. Longitudinal studies of workers, firms and localities are never done but are essential if policy is to be adequately grounded in an understanding of how the city’s economies interact and how planning can optimise conditions for all concerned. The report is by Dr Jessica Ferm, Dr Ed Jones and Prof Michael Edwards who have collaborated with the Just Space network of community organisations

Who is a compatible partner for a male mouse?

The complex issue of social housing of laboratory mice was addressed by studying the housing compatibility of male mice with castrated males, or with ovariectomized females, for a period of up to seven weeks. Sexually mature males were shown to be socially incompatible with castrated males of the same age but to be more compatible with same age or older ovariectomized females (results varied according to the mouse strains used). These ovariectomized females could also be repeatedly housed with different sets of younger male mice, even after being briefly separated and again re-paired. Our data suggest that ovariectomized females could be used to establish a long-term companion group fully compatible for male mice group housing

On the corrosion and soiling effects on materials by air pollution in Athens, Greece

In the frame of the European project, entitled MULTI-ASSESS, specimens of structural metals, glass, stone and concrete materials were exposed to air pollution at a station, which was installed for this purpose on a building, located in the centre of Athens. The main purpose of this project was to determine the corrosion and soiling effects of air pollution on materials. A set of the specimens was exposed in a position that was sheltered from rain and partly from wind, and another set was exposed in unsheltered positions on the roof of the above said building. In addition, other specimens were exposed at different heights on the same building, in order to investigate for the first time the corrosion and soiling effects on various materials as a function of height. For the determination of these effects, chemical analysis of the specimens was performed and basic parameters as the weight change, the layer thickness and the optical properties were calculated. Finally, the results obtained are discussed and their plausible interpretation is attempted

Individual Exposure to NO2 in Relation to Spatial and Temporal Exposure Indices in Stockholm, Sweden: The INDEX Study

Epidemiology studies of health effects from air pollution, as well as impact assessments, typically rely on ambient monitoring data or modelled residential levels. The relationship between these and personal exposure is not clear. To investigate personal exposure to NO2 and its relationship with other exposure metrics and time-activity patterns in a randomly selected sample of healthy working adults (20–59 years) living and working in Stockholm. Personal exposure to NO2 was measured with diffusive samplers in sample of 247 individuals. The 7-day average personal exposure was 14.3 µg/m3 and 12.5 µg/m3 for the study population and the inhabitants of Stockholm County, respectively. The personal exposure was significantly lower than the urban background level (20.3 µg/m3). In the univariate analyses the most influential determinants of individual exposure were long-term high-resolution dispersion-modelled levels of NO2 outdoors at home and work, and concurrent NO2 levels measured at a rural location, difference between those measured at an urban background and rural location and difference between those measured in busy street and at an urban background location, explaining 20, 16, 1, 2 and 4% (R2) of the 7-day personal NO2 variation, respectively. A regression model including these variables explained 38% of the variation in personal NO2 exposure. We found a small improvement by adding time-activity variables to the latter model (R2 = 0.44). The results adds credibility primarily to long-term epidemiology studies that utilise long-term indices of NO2 exposure at home or work, but also indicates that such studies may still suffer from exposure misclassification and dilution of any true effects. In contrast, urban background levels of NO2 are poorly related to individual exposure

Stochastic modelling of reaction-diffusion processes: algorithms for bimolecular reactions

Several stochastic simulation algorithms (SSAs) have been recently proposed for modelling reaction-diffusion processes in cellular and molecular biology. In this paper, two commonly used SSAs are studied. The first SSA is an on-lattice model described by the reaction-diffusion master equation. The second SSA is an off-lattice model based on the simulation of Brownian motion of individual molecules and their reactive collisions. In both cases, it is shown that the commonly used implementation of bimolecular reactions (i.e. the reactions of the form A + B -> C, or A + A -> C) might lead to incorrect results. Improvements of both SSAs are suggested which overcome the difficulties highlighted. In particular, a formula is presented for the smallest possible compartment size (lattice spacing) which can be correctly implemented in the first model. This implementation uses a new formula for the rate of bimolecular reactions per compartment (lattice site).Comment: 33 pages, submitted to Physical Biolog

The future of the planning system in England: Written evidence submitted by the Bartlett School of Planning, University College London

This document is the response from nineteen academics based at the Bartlett School of Planning, University College London (UCL) to the government’s White Paper Planning for the Future. The Bartlett School of Planning is one of the world’s leading centres for planning education and research. This response draws on the research and understanding of scholars with considerable relevant expertise across planning, urban design and real estate

Planning for the Future White Paper: Consultation response from academics based at the Bartlett School of Planning, UCL

This document is the response from nineteen academics based at the Bartlett School of Planning, University College London (UCL) to the government’s White Paper Planning for the Future. The Bartlett School of Planning is one of the world’s leading centres for planning education and research. This response draws on the research and understanding of scholars with considerable relevant expertise across planning, urban design and real estate

Caregiver perceptions of children who have complex communication needs following a home-based intervention using augmentative and alternative communication in rural Kenya: an intervention note:Home-based intervention using AAC in rural Kenya

A high level of unmet communication need exists amongst children with developmental disabilities in sub-Saharan Africa. This study investigated preliminary evidence of the impact associated with a home-based, caregiver-implemented intervention employing AAC methods, with nine children in rural Kenya who have complex communication needs. The intervention used mainly locally-sourced low-tech materials, and was designed to make use of the child's strengths and the caregiver's natural expertise. A pretest-posttest design was used in the study. Data were gathered using an adapted version of the Communication Profile, which was based on the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF) framework. The non-parametric Wilcoxon signed-rank test was applied to data from the first two sections of the Communication Profile-Adapted. Qualitative analysis was conducted on the final section. The data provided evidence of statistically significant positive changes in caregiver perceptions of communication at the levels of Body Structure and Function, and Activities for Communication. Also, analysis of the Participation for Communication section revealed some expansion to the children's social activities. The potential impact of the home-based intervention would benefit from investigation on a larger scale. Limitations of the study are discussed