In Northern Ireland, an average person does over 80% of their journeys by car. This is very high compared to other parts of the UK, where 63% of journeys are made by car, and in Ireland, where the figure is just over 50%. Belfast is also one of the most congested cities in the UK. These problems are because too many people are driving too often. Being too reliant on our cars to get around leads to many detrimental impacts. For example, we walk and cycle less, our air quality worsens, and the number of road traffic collisions increases. It is, therefore, a growing issue in public health with more and more cities looking for solutions to help reduce our reliance on cars. However, solutions to such a problem are not simple as there are many different groups involved in or affected by the transport system. If we are to find policies and programmes that help reduce car reliance long term, then these groups must work together to solve the problem. Our project aims to co-develop sustainable and scalable policies and programmes that reduce the reliance on cars in Belfast. Our project is organised into 3 workstreams: 1) understanding the multiple layers of the system that influence the reliance on cars in Belfast; 2) exploring the current evidence and knowledge of what has worked in other cities; 3) developing possible policies and programmes with key organisations to reduce car use. Our policies and programmes are aimed at citizens who use their car for work, school drop-off, leisure and other activities in Belfast. But other road users will also directly benefit from less cars on the road, through less air pollution and fewer road traffic collisions. The general population will also benefit from cleaner air, less noise, and potential positive impacts on climate change. Our research includes the following steps: 1. We will undertake a survey using a technique known as Network Analysis to help us understand the network of stakeholders involved in the development, implementation and evaluation of programmes and policies to reduce car dependency and how they might best work together. 2. We will undertake a survey with road users in Belfast to evaluate and rank the importance of influences on car dependency and on alternative travel modes, using a technique known as Discrete Choice Experiments. 3. To develop agreement among stakeholders about the nature, ordering and relationships between programmes and policies of different organisations to reduce car dependency, we will develop visual diagrams of the 'system' of the various aspects that affect car dependency, using a technique known as causal loop diagrams. 4. We will host workshops with local citizens to 'sense-check' promising intervention approaches and policies to explore and ensure the acceptability, utility, affordability, feasibility and sustainability of new initiatives. Possible policies and programmes may include, for example: improved public transport, with the introduction of a new rapid transit system; investment in urban greenways to increase walking and cycling journeys; expanding the car-free areas of the city centre; extension of 'park and ride' and 'park and stride' facilities at the edge of the city. Our work will have the following outputs: 1. Identification of stakeholders influencing car dependency in Belfast and their relationships. 2. A review of the evidence for actions to reduce car dependency, leading to identification of possible new interventions and policies to be considered by stakeholders. 3. A map identifying ongoing and planned policies and interventions and their potential interplay. 4. A suite of potential co-ordinated policies and interventions 'tested' (in terms of acceptability and feasibility) with road users and local citizens. 5. A consensual understanding of the evidence provided and implications for reducing car dependency in Belfast. 6. A roadmap for multi-sectoral action to reduce car dependency in Belfast.

The ability to transmit high power wirelessly over long distances is a potential game changer. In this project we are ambitiously investigating the area of medium power (200 W) medium distance (25 m) microwave wireless power transmission (WPT). Current research on microwave WPT tends to focus on low power "scavenging" techniques, with power levels of < 1mW. This can be useful for applications such as low power sensors, but is unlikely to be disruptive for commonly used wireless devices requiring higher power such as smartphones, or even electric vehicles. Higher powered WPT can be carried out using low frequency inductive coupling techniques, although range is very short (<20 cm). Therefore we see microwave WPT, as the only way of breaking the barrier of longer distance and higher power. We intend to take commercial Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (Drones) as a demanding, high added value, and un-resolved application example. Current drone technology is battery powered with a flight time of around only 20 minutes. The ability for continuous drone flight would be highly disruptive allowing many new applications for the technology that currently cannot be accessed e.g. first response situations such as delivery of emergency medical supplies. The development of new strategies for medium (<25m) range wireless power transmission (WPT) that permit high efficiency end to end energy transfer delivering up to 200W d.c. power will be a game changer, as it will largely offset the current critical dependence on rechargeable battery technology. This proposal will provide a step change in microwave WPT technology in order to allow continuous powering of arbitrarily located mobile electrical systems entirely wirelessly over distance in an energy effective way. We are not aware of any other research programme that has studied efficient end to end WPT to moving platforms with arbitrary orientation that are capable of both near and far field power delivery ensuring 24/7 endurance. We intend to address complex research challenges in microwave WPT regarding both transmit and receive rectifying antenna (rectenna) technology. We propose an innovative microwave WPT system that; (i) can transfer power to an object or objects whose position relative to the wireless power source is/are unknown a-priori, (ii) can lie in either the near or the far-field of each other with arbitrary orientation in both line of sight and non-line sight situations (iii) can operate using small, arbitrarily spaced, transmit sub-arrays, to artificially enhance the transmit aperture, since WPT with a single, conventional antenna, requires a massive aperture to produce reasonable efficiency. This will require major innovations that currently lie beyond state of the art. (a) Near/far field auto focusing tracking antenna array technology, with a high degree of focusing from a distributed array transmitter, allowing for extremely low free space path loss (b) Power amplifiers that can maintain extremely high efficiency over a range of power levels (c) Conformal, orientation agnostic rectifying antenna (rectenna) systems. In addition to the above we are aware that applying a conformal rectenna around a drone will be highly challenging, if the drone is still to be capable of efficient and stable flight. Therefore staff from the QUB school of Mechanical and Aerospace engineering are also involved in the project to establish novel conformal rectenna flight-ready solutions. As a grand finale to the research programme we propose to show two high impact practical demonstrations. We intend to show a laboratory measurement of high efficiency microwave WPT, but, to put this research project on the world stage, we plan to show a long duration vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) flight, by flying a drone continuously, powered entirely by microwave wireless power.

Those living in low-income areas have a much higher risk of long-term conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, depression, and frailty. Our lifestyle, such as how active we are, what we eat and if we smoke or drink alcohol in excess can greatly increase our chance of having one of these diseases. The environment that we live in, such as if we live close to or visit parks, canals, and forests, can help us live a healthier life. However, communities living in low-income areas can have poorer access to such spaces or use them less. They also have less voice in decisions affecting their local spaces, at either local or national level. We propose a new partnership: researchers, clinicians, practitioners (such as urban designers) and policymakers all working with local citizens who have the most to benefit from better access to and use of quality spaces. We will work collaboratively to identify poor quality and underused spaces through citizen-led approaches. We will then work with them to develop and/or modify outdoor spaces so that they are high quality and fit for purpose. These actions can be as small as window boxes in schools, or as large as the development of new greenways or reshaping policies regarding land use to protect our green spaces. We will also work to identify ways in which we can promote such spaces for everyone, ensuring that no community is excluded form benefit. The important aspect is that local communities are fully involved in decisions about what they want, and what they will use, thus becoming central to the decision-making process. They will also be involved in the evaluation of these actions, enabling them to directly see how the process has benefited their communities. An important part of putting actions and solutions in place is understanding if they work (or not). Data plays an important part in measuring success, particularly if the same data can be collected consistently across the different actions. Another part of the partnership will be establishing a way of bringing multiple sources of data together so we can effectively determine what works across multiple projects and settings. So, whilst citizens can be involved in collecting data about whether the space has improved their health and wellbeing (through a bespoke app), we can also use other data on health, wellbeing and the environment that is routinely collected by local councils and governments. The main research will take place in three different cities - Edinburgh, Belfast and Liverpool - all with some similar features (such as large urban areas with lower income communities) and distinct features (such as geography and culture). Each city already has policies and programmes in place to improve green and blue space, but there is much room for improvement. Working with the local citizens we will test a range of different methods and approaches, and be able to collect a large amount of data. This data can then be used to understand what works for whom and why across the cities. We can then use this knowledge to predict what could be effective over a much wider area, and also what does not work. We can also make some decisions around what is good value for money, and what is not. We also understand that individual small actions within local communities (or even within cities) are not going to solve the problem, which is why we are also going to focus on how our research can help inform future policies and programmes. Our programme of work will take a whole life course approach which will ensure inclusive environments for all; working with our youngest citizens in particular will ensure early cultural change levers are activated, empowering a new generation with lifelong health and wellbeing.

UK ENABLE Consortium vision, aims and objectives: Local government is uniquely placed to shape the environmental and social factors which fundamentally influence non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and thus our health and wellbeing. Our vision is for local government to consider the health of local populations in all policy and practice decisions and to have the best possible scientific evidence to support those decisions. We will test our vision by working with five different local authority (LA) based public health systems across the UK, learning what works best, and what can be useful for all LAs across the UK. Our consortium brings together academics, practitioners, policy makers and other stakeholders from across the UK in five centres in NE and SW England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales; each with different models of public health delivery. We will develop and test a process that embeds research capacity and expertise in LAs. Working closely with our partners in each LA, we will identify a current priority for improving the health and wellbeing and reducing inequalities of people living in that area. By building relationships between academics, practitioners and policy makers we will enable the LA to access and create new evidence that is relevant for decision making about the priority issue. Scientific rationale for the proposed research: Evidence-informed policy-making aims to improve decision making by using the best available research. Organisational and cultural barriers within the current system have made this approach difficult to achieve. New methods and approaches are needed which bring together researchers, practitioners and policy makers in local government, where evidence is only one contributing factor to decision-making. Embedded researchers and knowledge brokers can help to ensure evidence is used by building understanding of the context, accessing existing, and co-producing new evidence. Intervention(s) of interest and the potential applications and anticipated benefits of the work: By the end of the project we will: 1. Increase research capacity and 'no how' in each LA, focusing on a local NCD priority issue, enabling access to evidence to inform local decision-making. We will develop and share learning which is generalisable across the UK 2. Build and support new partnerships for active and effective research use with practitioners, policy makers, and academia 3. Build knowledge and skills in local government and universities to maximise use of different kinds of evidence for policy, practice and public decision-making 4. Co-create evidence that addresses local government priorities, with a focus on prevention, by working across sectors and disciplines, utilising novel methodological approaches, including complex systems models 5. Develop a range of health and system interventions that have been co-produced and tested across LA areas 6. Create sustained change in research culture in LAs and academia so that evidence use is embedded across local government 7. Evaluate this new approach and methods to see if we made a difference to the health of people living in each area, related to their priority topic, and whether/how this approach could be rolled out across the UK We anticipate that this work will improve population health and wellbeing and increase the use of scientific research. It aims to improve quality, efficiency and effectiveness of public health interventions and services, reduce waste, and improve staff morale and retention. Consortium management: Our across-UK academic leadership brings together experience of applied translational research in prevention from four of the UKCRC funded Centres of Excellence in Public Health. Senior leaders in local government public health, bring practical experience of putting evidence into action. Other members have expertise in systems thinking, embedded research, knowledge brokerage and other skills essential to our success.

This project assesses the architectural legacy of The Troubles, the social-historical phenomenon between 1969 and 1994 when the sectarian conflict in Northern Ireland was at its most extreme. The influence of The Troubles was such that it has had a profound impact on the social, political, economic, cultural and spatial structures of Northern Ireland. There are many visible architectural remnants of the Troubles in contemporary Belfast, most notably the 'peace-walls' between a number of Protestant and Roman Catholic residential communities. Quite distinct from this recognised architectural legacy, this research encapsulates a specific, discrete and barely recognised aspect of the cultural structures of The Troubles: a range of distinct and divisive architecture within individual communities in Belfast, now embedded in the contemporary urban fabric. As Northern Ireland moves forward in a post-Troubles era, a plethora of housing, roads, landscaping and related artefacts continue to divide and spatially fragment communities. The research conceives of a 'community' as a construct of 'People and Architecture', an intrinsic inter-relationship between people and their built environment. Community, housing, and security in Belfast are intricately linked. During The Troubles 70% of bombings were aimed at housing in the 'Belfast Urban Area'. The residential inner-city was subject to fundamental architectural alterations by both civilian and security authorities. These interventions resulted in a profound material impact upon inner-city communities, creating architectural and spatial disconnection that has promoted deprivation and disenfranchisement within these communities. These areas that are at now at the focus of the 'Together: Building a United Community Strategy, the core policy framework for post-conflict Northern Ireland, which emphasises the role communities will have to play in shaping their own future. Whilst there has been much work in the areas of planning policy, sociology and human geography concerning The Troubles, there is a distinct lack of architectural research in this area, particularly concerning architectural design and the relationship to communities during conflict. This study addresses this gap in knowledge, and equip local communities and policy makers with a crucial knowledge-base that is pertinent to contemporary policy formulation. The overarching aim of this research is to effect material change in the community life of some of Belfast's most deprived urban areas. The research conceives of a city-wide study that will examine the architectural legacy of The Troubles and engage local communities with these findings in order to inclusively inform related policy formulation. This suggests four questions: What do these architectural artefacts look like? What do communities have to say about this architecture? How can this research inform the related and relevant policy discussions? What are the lessons for other communities, at both national and international level? These questions formulate the following objectives: to engage this area of arts & humanities research with community and policy stakeholders; to foster community empowerment through structured, active inclusion with policy makers; to illuminate and illustrate the urban impact of conflict in Belfast's communities; and, to develop a transferable method to engage local communities as active-researchers of their built environment. A 'community' as a construct of 'People and Architecture' involves a complex inter-relationship between community, design practice and policy ambition. A cross-disciplinary research team addresses this research context. Academics from architecture, photography, social policy, planning policy and conflict studies are working with community project partners and government agencies. This team have developed a co-designed, collaborative methodology with embedded pathways to community, policy, public and academic impact.