The eleventh Sustainable Development Goal is to make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.
2022 progress report
Infrastructure
Our and Urban Observatory form part of a £3.1m UK Research Partnership Investment Fund (UKRPIF) project. The new Net Zero Airport project will support steps to decarbonise aviation and is part of the Urban Observatory. The funding will enable further expansion of the sensor network, supporting the development of an airport 'digital twin' and a net zero sensor testbed. An example activity in this project looked at .
Education
Specific education programmes begun in 2021/22 included Protecting Critical National Infrastructure, which outlines current risks to critical infrastructure and key resources posed by terrorism and related threats; and Risk, Crisis and Resilience.
Research
Specific research projects addressing sustainable cities and communities included:
- Defragmenting the fragmented urban landscape (DEFRAG), which aims to connect the green and blue spaces that support biodiversity and ecosystem functioning for healthier, more resilient towns and cities.
- Mobility as a service (MaaS) develops the concept of a user unified service that combines various forms of transport at a single gateway. If successful, the project will lead to reduction of traffic congestion, improvement of customer convenience, reduction of social inequalities and carbon emissions by fostering the use of public transport.
- Integrating drones in urban airspaces – in the near future city-dwellers can expect to see a variety of drones in the airspace above where they live, perhaps transporting patients to hospitals, helping tackle fires, or simply delivering parcels. This vision of urban air mobility (UAM), making use of different types of drones, will also help people travel faster and more efficiently through unmanned air taxis – and researchers say it will be in place in a matter of a few years.
- A new European project, , is now carrying out co-ordination and substantial testing to manage this airspace traffic and check safety, interoperability and feasibility. The first trial demonstration took place at Â鶹´«Ã½AV on 30 June, and will be followed by other trial events in the Netherlands and Spain.
Outreach
Our Sustainability Network series included a webinar focused on citizens and their needs.
Siqi Xu, a Cranfield student on the WIRe doctoral training programme, participated in the 2022 Milton Keynes Soapbox Science event where she spoke to the public about her research on sewage sludge.
New businesses
, originally spun out by a Cranfield PhD student, went from strength to strength in 2021/22. The company’s vision is to provide owners of critical infrastructure in the energy industry with the data they need to proactively manage their corrosion challenges and make well informed decisions with regards to the integrity of their assets.
2021 progress report
Our aim is to provide a sustainable environment in which to live and work, both at the University campuses and other areas affected or influenced by our activities.
See our policies and plans for a sustainable community.
Cranfield's major refurbishments and new buildings are constructed with 's standards in mind.
Our 'Masterplan' is available for staff to view on our intranet. It sets out the framework for any long-term investment in infrastructure.
Examples of new facilities opened in 2021 and built with BREEAM's standards in mind include DARTeC, a new facility to help drive forward innovations in digital airspace and airport infrastructure that will help the UK reach its target of net zero carbon emissions and support industry to bounce back from Covid-19; a new agri-informatics facility that will play a vital role in bringing forward digital innovations in agriculture; a leading national water science facility, the Water Science Building, funded by government through and Â鶹´«Ã½AV; and a new forensic science ‘centre of excellence’ provides facilities in crime scene investigation, digital forensic investigation and forensic materials analysis, amongst others.
Courses/modules relating to the goal
The following courses either address sustainability entirely or contain modules that are focused on sustainability-related topics.
Advanced Air Mobility Systems MSc
Advanced Chemical Engineering MSc
Advanced Digital Energy Systems MSc
Advanced Heat Engineering MSc (discontinued)
Advanced Lightweight and Composite Structures MSc
Advanced Materials MSc
Advanced Mechanical Engineering MSc
Advanced Motorsport Engineering MSc
Advanced Motorsport Mechatronics MSc
Advanced Water Management MSc
Aerospace Dynamics with options in Aerodynamics and Flight Dynamics MSc
Aerospace Manufacturing MSc
Aerospace Materials MSc
Aerospace Vehicle Design MSc
Air Transport Management Executive MSc
Air Transport Management MSc
Aircraft Engineering MSc (Engineering and Manufacturing streams)
Airport Planning and Management MSc
Airworthiness MSc
Archaeomaterials MSc
Applied Artificial Intelligence
Automotive Engineering MSc
Automotive Mechatronics MSc
Autonomous Vehicle Dynamics and Control MSc
Aviation Digial Technology Management MSc
Computational and Software Techniques in Engineering MSc
Computational Fluid Dynamics MSc
Connected and Autonomous Vehicle Engineering MSc
Counterterrorism MSc
Counterterrorism Risk Management and Resilience MSc
Cyber-Secure Manufacturing MSc (discontinued)
Design Thinking MDes
Digital Forensics MSc
Environmental Engineering MSc
Environmental Management for Business MSc
Executive Logistics and Supply Chain Management MSc
Executive MBA
Explosives Ordnance Engineering MSc
Food Systems and Management MSc
Forensic Investigation MSc
Future Food Sustainability MSc
Advanced GIS and Remote Sensing MSc
Information Capability Management MSc
Global Environmental Change MSc
Investigation of Heritage Crime MSc (discontinued)
Logistics and Supply Chain Management MSc
Management and Corporate Sustainability MSc
Management and Leadership MSc
Management MSc
MBA
Procurement and Supply Chain Management MSc
Renewable Energy MSc
Sustainability MSc
Thermal Power and Propulsion MSc
Through-life System Sustainment MSc
Water and Sanitation for Development MSc
Water and Wastewater Engineering MSc