2022-2026 PhD   Author: Qingyue Xue

This PhD research project is focusing on how migrant populations promote health, well-being, a sense of place and belonging in the city through the creation of urban and natural spaces and inclusive design. It is an interdisciplinary research journey covering areas related to population health, urban planning, geography, and environmental psychology.

The focus will investigate the relationship between urban parks (perceived park quality, park use) and health (namely mental health, physical health, and social health), and the mediating effects of sense of place and physical activity on health benefits of urban parks. This will be a mixed study including both qualitative and quantitative aspects. The research will provide references for urban planners and designers and policymakers about how to improve urban environment instruments for the migrants’ vulnerable mental, physical health and social health through pathways of sense of place and physical activity.

The research emphasises the intrinsic link between adaptation and experience of urban landscapes and multiculturalism and a sense of health and place. It actively addresses the issues of social inequality and environmental justice that arise in the context of globalisation and urbanisation as populations continue to migrate. There is a commitment to using urban nature and public space-making to help migrant communities cope with their lives with better health in their new urban environments.

Supervisor team:

Supervisor 1: Dr. Ben Wheeler

Supervisor 2: Dr. Lucy Szaboova

Supervisor 3: Dr. Sarah Bell

PGR Pastoral Tutor: Dr. Anne Leonard