Leeds City Research Articles

Cultivating ‘communities of practice’ to tackle civic policy challenges: insights from local government-academic collaboration in Leeds

Background:The academic impact agenda and evidence-informed policy movement have formed dynamic incentives for engagement between universities and local authorities. Yet, in the competitive higher education landscape, research-intensive universities frequently gravitate towards global rather than local impacts, while local government resources are diminished. In this context, how can universities and councils collaborate effectively to inform solutions to complex policy issues? Aims and objectives:This paper draws on data from a Review of Collaboration between researchers at the University of Leeds and officers at Leeds City Council, which explored factors that enable and constrain research–policy engagement. Where limitations of linear models of research–policy interaction are well documented, we consider how a ‘community of practice’ (CoP) approach might offer insights for accelerating civic knowledge exchange. Methods:A CoP lens was applied in analysing data from a mapping exercise, survey and semi-structured interviews involving academics and council officers. Findings:Examining research–policy engagement in terms of the ‘domain’, ‘community’ and ‘practice’ constituents of CoPs highlights the significance of interpersonal connections in forging ‘boundary-crossing’ collaborations that have spurred innovation in the city. Academics and officers commonly advocated enhanced inter-organisational processes whereby relationality is supported institutionally. Proposals are encapsulated in a model that conceptualises civic collaboration as a series of domain-specific CoPs supported by an inter-sectoral CoP performing vital ‘boundary bridging’ functions. Discussion and conclusions:Drawing on experiences from one English city, we advance a framework which offers promising insights into integration of organisational and relational facilitators of research–policy partnerships in responding to municipal policy challenges.

A novel one-vs-rest consensus learning method for crash severity prediction

Research in crash severity prediction is necessary to allow safety planners to take precautionary measures and enable first aiders to remain prepared for assisting the injured. Existing literature in the field of crash severity prediction is mostly focused on generating the attributes for predicting the severity. However, in reality, not all features are discriminating, and certain classes are challenging to detect even employing the entire feature set. Although to tackle these problems several techniques are developed in the Machine Learning (ML) literature. But their application to crash severity prediction and an optimal strategy for the best combination of features or classifiers for achieving high accuracy is a less studied area. To address these problems, this work first provides a comparison of widely used classifiers for predicting crash severity; and secondly, by combining class-wise majority voting with One-vs-Rest (OvR) approach, a novel classification framework named, OvR consensus learning (OvRCL) is proposed. The proposed method avail a feature selection technique, Mutual information (MI), to acquire the most relevant feature set regarding the output class (i.e. severity). Moreover, to differentiate each class in the multi-class data, OvRCL iteratively runs ML algorithms as binary classifiers in an ensemble framework to significantly ameliorate classification performance. In our experiments, we use four classifiers, namely, the k-Nearest Neighbors (k-NN), Support Vector Machines (SVM), Random Forest (RF), and Bagging classifier, to get the consensus. Analysis was done using a real crash dataset obtained from an open data source of Leeds city council. A four-year crash data (2015–2018) is used for training and the OvRCL is tested on the 2019 data. Moreover, to validate the performance of OvRCL, this study also utilizes two more datasets with high-class imbalance. In contrast to conventional ML algorithms, our experiments depictthat the OvRCL is a potent method for forecasting crash severity levels on the data under test.

Perceptions of E-Micromobility Vehicles Amongst Staff and Students at Universities in the North of England

Background: Currently, many journeys are under three miles, with most of these journeys completed using private cars. This leads to congestion, pollution and reduced opportunity for physical activity. Swapping private car journeys for walking, cycling or using electric micromobility (e-micromobility) vehicles, such as electric scooters and electric bicycles, could create healthier environments and populations. Whist e-micromobility vehicles are increasing in popularity, questions remain about how they might fit into current transport networks and how they are perceived by communities. Leeds is striving to become a zero emission city by 2030 and the student and staff population in Leeds is diverse and provides a good opportunity to explore perceptions relating to e-micromobility in the region. Objective and methods: This study aimed to explore perceptions of e-scooters and e-bikes as key groups of e-micromobility vehicles amongst university staff and students working or studying at universities in Leeds. An online survey was disseminated online via social media, email networks and via Prolific in November 2021.Findings and implications: Few respondents currently use e-micromobility vehicles. Advantages of e-micromobility vehicles were mentioned and included reduced pollution and convenience for short journeys. Many respondents stated that they would be unlikely to purchase or hire an e-micromobility vehicle soon. Deterrents included cost, concerns about safety and uncertainties about where they can be ridden. Required regulations that respondents mentioned included compulsory training and maximum speed restrictions. These findings could inform future policy relating to e-micromobilities and support transport changes to support ambitions to achieve net zero emissions by 2030 in the region and beyond.

Parents’ awareness and perceptions of the Change4Life 100 cal snack campaign, and perceived impact on snack consumption by children under 11 years

BackgroundChildhood obesity is a pertinent public health problem in the UK. Consumption of free sugars has been associated with the development of obesity. In 2018, the Change 4Life (C4L) 100 cal snack campaign was launched with the slogan ‘100 calorie snacks, two a day max’, aiming to encourage parents to choose lower sugar, fat and calorie snacks for their children. This study aimed to examine how the campaign has been perceived by parents.MethodsAn online survey was developed to explore parent awareness, perceptions and understanding of the C4L 100 cal snack campaign. Respondents were recruited via Leeds City Council, posters displayed at primary schools and children’s centres across Leeds and via social media. Paper surveys were also shared with voluntarily led playgroups. Survey data was analysed using descriptive statistics. Thematic analysis was performed on open text responses.ResultsThree hundred forty-two 342 respondents completed the survey. Just over half of the respondents had come across the campaign, most seeing the leaflet or a television advert. Over two-thirds of respondents ‘agreed’ or ‘strongly agreed’ that the campaign caught their attention. A similar proportion ‘agreed’ or ‘strongly agreed’ that the campaign informed them about 100 cal snacks and just over a half thought it was memorable. Most respondents used positive language to describe the campaign, but there was no clear consensus of a perceived positive impact on healthier snack purchasing, nor preparing more 100 cal snacks at home. Respondents provided examples of how the campaign could be improved to positively impact eating behaviours: better publicity and information delivery; healthier snack examples made more visible; improved nutritional labelling and access to healthier products in supermarkets (availability, promotion, display, choice).ConclusionsThe C4L 100 cal snack campaign was perceived positively by parents and carers, with many agreeing that the campaign was informative and memorable. However, there was no agreement in terms of the parents reporting an impact of the campaign on behaviour change and healthier snack habits. Future social marketing campaigns could be improved through more formal pilot testing to assess the understanding and acceptance of the campaign amongst the target audience.

Sensory spaces: sensory living – studio teaching the design of autism-friendly adult accommodation

PurposeThe study aims to evaluate: (1) How university students from interior architecture can create a forward-looking “Sensory Living” brief informed by both external autism experts and a specialist tutor, evidenced through Leeds City Council's live autism adult accommodation project. (2) Issues involved with moving an experimental studio teaching model online during the COVID-19 pandemic.Design/methodology/approachA grounded theory approach informs an innovative teaching model, run over two years, to create a better normal; challenges and opportunities are critiqued.FindingsFeedback from experienced autism-specific experts raises recurring sensory and communication issues which frame a series of design problems to help inform the student briefs. Students learn that the designer as advocate for vulnerable users is imperative. Aspects of online teaching that can benefit an experimental studio teaching model are identified.Practical implicationsIdentification of the responsive “Sensory Living Model” illustrates (1) How local authorities can avoid seclusion and integrate meaningful “continuous learning opportunities” into autism-friendly adult accommodation for post-pandemic health and wellbeing. (2) How to embed autism-friendly design in the university curriculum.Social implicationsThe study helps address some of the UK Government's “National strategy for autistic children, young people and adults: 2021 to 2026”.Originality/value“Ten Novel Sensory Living Themes” are uncovered to help inform the design of autism-friendly adult accommodation. These are of value to (1) local authorities and design practitioners in formulating design briefs and (2) universities in educating future designers of inclusive spaces.

Deliberative democracy and environmental justice: evaluating the role of citizens’ juries in urban climate governance

ABSTRACT Understanding mechanisms of policy engagement and the participation of different actors in urban climate governance is particularly important as cities follow climate emergency declarations with corresponding action, to ensure that inequalities are not exacerbated by climate action. Citizens’ juries are a deliberative democracy tool that allows a demographically representative sample of the population to learn about a contested issue from experts, and discuss, debate and develop policy recommendations. Leeds City Council declared a climate emergency in March 2019, compelling the local authority to take serious measures to implement a reduction in carbon emissions to net zero by 2030. A citizens’ jury was established by an independent local body, the Leeds Climate Commission, to debate various possible courses of action in response to the declaration. This research critically examined the processes surrounding and embedded in the Leeds citizens’ climate jury with a focus on procedural justice and representation justice. Emerging lessons include that recognition of power differentials between various social groups should be carefully considered throughout deliberative processes to ensure representation justice is achieved in decision making. Representation justice demands that those who are included in decision making spaces are able to harness their position to voice their experiences, opinions, hopes and concerns in deciding which trade-offs will be made. In citizens’ juries, facilitation style and techniques play a critical role in achieving this participatory parity, alongside other factors. There is potential for important procedural co-benefits to emerge, such as trust-building, place identity and hope for the future.

Is ‘Growing Better’ ripe for development? Creating an urban farm for social impact

‘Growing Better’ is a micro-social enterprise Community Interest Company (CIC), based in the Leeds City Region (UK), which provides a supportive working environment for people with mental health issues at an urban farming facility. This case study explores the business model and informs the challenge of growing a social enterprise with limited human and technical resources. Findings suggest that the potential for growth lies with the social entrepreneur’s ability to harness external stakeholder support; however, any development of the venture should also inform the effective utilisation of resources through operations management. Practically the case explores how aspirations for social and environmental impact drives the need to acquire and manage resources effectively and efficiently.

Mapping the production-consumption gap of an urban food system: an empirical case study of food security and resilience

Urban food systems are complex and increasingly recognised as not being sustainable, equitable or resilient. Though globalisation and lengthening of agrifood supply chains has brought many benefits, such as year-long availability of fresh produce and modernisation opportunities for some developing regions, they have increased reliance on food imports and reduced the food and nutrition resilience of many cities. This premise has been widely witnessed following recent financial, climatic and pandemic driven disruptions to food supplies. A greater understanding is thus needed of the lived reality of a modern city’s ability to sustainably and equitably feed itself in a crisis situation or otherwise. In a changing world, such knowledge is valuable on a variety of strategic planning levels. Employing publically available data, the scale of food security and resilience, and options for their improvement, are holistically assessed through a case study spatial analysis of the urban food system of the city of Leeds in the United Kingdom. The case study found that the Leeds city region is home to a significant and diverse food production and provision system, but it is not food secure in terms of providing sufficient energy or macronutrients, or functioning in an equitable manner for all of its residents. Options for improving the performance of the system, including urban farming and industrial symbiosis, were found to be nuanced and would only be effective alongside a range of complimentary interventions as well as high levels of investment, multi-sector cooperation and strong governance. Though food system evolution and development are grounded in local context, the methods, general findings and circular economy focussed recommendations emanating from the case study, are widely applicable.

Does the Diversity of New Build Housing Type and Tenure Have a Positive Influence on Residential Absorption Rates? An Investigation of Housing Completion Rates in Leeds City Region

ABSTRACT The research tests a proposition that a more diverse range of new build housing improves absorption rates. Land registry house sales for four Planning Authorities in Leeds City region in the UK, over an 11-year period, were used to calculate Brillouin’s Index of diversity and perform Pearson and ANOVA tests to determine strength and significance of the correlation between absorption rates and diversity by type, size and tenure of new housing. The significant findings are that residential developments with higher diversity have lower absorption rates, conversely, developments with lower diversity have higher absorption rates and smaller sites are built-out faster.

Building momentum for local action on problem gambling in Leeds and Yorkshire

Problem gambling has not been a priority within either Leeds City Council or partnership plans. However, financial inclusion, licencing and public health teams have been able to develop a cross-Council approach to problem gambling. This has been aided by an upfront payment plus annual payments to the Council that have been part of the licencing agreement for a new casino. As a result, research has been commissioned on local prevalence. This showed a higher rate of problem gamblers (1.8%) than national estimates with a similar level to nationally of those ‘at risk’. The research also showed that local services had difficulties identifying problem gamblers and signposting for support. This had led to a high profile communications campaign to coincide with ‘Responsible Gambling Week’ complemented by training for frontline workers. The interviews undertaken for the research, plus the findings themselves, have been a powerful help in securing interest and commitment beyond the Council and to the health and third sectors. The use of local stories has helped build momentum for partnership working. For example, focus groups to explore how gambling affected migrants and medical student interviews with university students. The article will describe how increasing understanding across partners has helped build confidence to provide cross city responses to national consultations and contribute to national publications and conferences. Of even greater significance, the local National Health Service has secured funding from GambleAware for a Northern Gambling Service to be based in Leeds with satellites in the North East and Greater Manchester. This will provide treatment for those with severe gambling addiction. Additional support will come from a significant increased provision of GamCare services working to identify, screen and support problem gamblers. The use of Council premises for both of these services is testament to joint working. Recognising that this is a new emerging agenda has led to the creation of a Yorkshire and Humber Problem Gambling Working Group, endorsed by the Association of Directors of Public Health. This has resulted in shared learning and determining a consistent approach to harm. Even during a short time, the degree of interest has risen substantially. A regional gambling harm reduction framework has been produced that sets out a menu of actions. This intends to help local areas determine their own priorities. There is increasing recognition that problem gambling is a public health issue. Leadership requires a systems led, and Health in All Policies, approach to ensure problem gambling is not seen as a narrow niche issue led by public health staff. There is a need to recognise that engagement takes time. However, this is a new and emerging issue. The solutions to problem gambling are not clear and this allows for more creative, pragmatic and coproduced approaches.

Who Led Leeds? Public service between the wars: building a biographical library through collaboration

AbstractFew biographical databases exist giving any information about the lives of ‘ordinary’ local leaders. Who Led Leeds? was a public engagement project that aimed to create a biographical collection at the Leeds Central Library, detailing the lives of Leeds city councillors who served between 1918 and 1939. This article describes the project and considers the extent to which the project was successful. It also reflects on how the creation of such archives using existing resources in local studies and family history libraries has the potential to expand and enrich the field of urban history.

Revamping doctoral training for a decarbonised future

Revamping doctoral training for a decarbonised future

Leeds City Council

Outstanding-rated children's services has succeeded despite a rise in the child population and levels of poverty

Recasting Urban Governance through Leeds City Lab: Developing Alternatives to Neoliberal Urban Austerity in Co‐production Laboratories

AbstractThis article reports on a research project, Leeds City Lab, that brought together partner organizations to explore the meanings and practices of co‐production in the context of urban change. Our intention is to offer a response to the crisis in urban governance by combining the growing academic and practitioner debates on co‐production and urban laboratories in order to explore radically different institutional personae that can respond to deficits in contemporary urban governance, especially relating to participation and disenfranchisement, and ultimately unlock improved ways of designing, managing and living in cities. Our analysis has identified four key ways in which co‐production labs can recast urban governance to more progressive ends: by moving beyond traditional organizational identities and working practices, embracing grey spaces of new civic interfaces, foregrounding emotions and power and committing to durable solutions. Ultimately, what we point towards is that urban governance can be more effectively enacted in co‐production labs that bring together universities and the public, private and civil society sectors on a basis of equality, trust and openness. These spaces have the potential to unlock a city's knowledge, resources and assets, to unpack complex challenges and to build capacity to deliver improved city‐wide solutions.

Leeds City Council

Children and Young People NowVol. 2017, No. 9 Special Report: PracticeLeeds City CouncilEmily RogersEmily RogersSearch for more papers by this authorEmily RogersPublished Online:7 Dec 2017https://doi.org/10.12968/cypn.2017.9.35AboutSectionsView articleView Full TextPDF/EPUB ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack Citations ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InEmail View article FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails 2 May 2017Volume 2017Issue 9ISSN (print): 1755-8093ISSN (online): 2515-7582 Metrics History Published online 7 December 2017 Published in print 2 May 2017 Information© MA Education LimitedPDF download

Landscape structure planning and the urban forest in polycentric city regions

The World is continuing to urbanise at an increasing and some say alarming rate, and although urbanism is not uniform in all countries, without a doubt the 21st century is the century of the Polycentric City Region. By the year 2007, for the first time in history, the world hosted more urban dwellers than rural, and in order to deal with this urban expansion in an environmentally acceptable way, the concept of the “sustainable compact city” was advocated. There is now an increasing canon of research however that suggests that such cities may not be quite as sustainable as they are claimed to be. As a consequence, the concept of “urban green infrastructure”, which includes the concept of urban forestry, is being incorporated into new thinking on the landscape structure planning of expanding cities and city regions to ensure that they provide an acceptable quality of life for their inhabitants. The environmental, economic, social, health, well-being and cultural benefits that emanate from such an approach to promoting resilient landscape structure planning are considerable. Such an approach to landscape structure planning is well-able to repair the beneficial relationship that people once had with their landscapes, a relationship that has arguably suffered as our scientific and economic cultures have tended to gain the upper hand in the post-industrial times in which we live. Human beings have had a long, deep, cultural relationship with trees, woodlands and the landscape – a relationship which transcends national cultures. The use of the term “landscape” does not refer to the rather shallow modern concept of ‘the landscape as a view”, but to the more fundamental concept of “landscape as the composition of our world”. Thus it refers to both urban, peri-urban and rural areas, and the urban forest is the prime spatial articulator of a landscape structure plan. Although the words “forest” and “forestry” are now generally understood to be connected with trees, the words have arguably been derived from the Latin word “foris”, meaning “out of doors” or “unenclosed land” (Porteous, 1928 p34). Thus urban forestry could be described as the “urban out of doors”. This presentation will consider the benefits that can be achieved from developing a viable urban forest structure as the backbone of a polycentric city region landscape structure plan. It will focus upon the Leeds Polycentric City Region in the UK and its emerging Leeds City Region Green and Blue Infrastructure Strategy 2017 - 2036 as a case study.

The state of men's health in Leeds

Steve Chaplin reviews a recent report from Leeds City Council and Leeds Beckett University focusing on men's health in Leeds. The ground‐breaking report will help shape policies for men's health in the city in the years ahead.

Procuring a sustainable future: an action learning approach to the development and modelling of ethical and sustainable procurement practices

ABSTRACTThis paper contributes to an understanding of the processes by which organisational actors learn how to affect positive and sustainable social change in their local region through action learning, action research and appreciative inquiry. The paper is based on a critically reflective account of key findings from an ongoing action research project, funded by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. The project is an attempt to alleviate poverty in the Leeds City Region through the identification and spread of ‘good practice’ in large local organisations. The paper is based on insights into the tensions involved in accomplishing such modes of action research and action learning in this particular context, and how these findings can relate to similar research in other domains of inquiry, action and cross-organisational learning. Through this, the paper discusses the inherent challenges faced when attempting to use action research and action learning approaches to help large organisations to learn and develop as ethical and sustainable agents.

INNOVATION AND GROWTH IN THE CITY REGION: MICROECONOMIC EVIDENCE OF ASYMMETRIES

Using a micro-economic perspective, this study explores the type, scale and impact of innovation activities that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) undertake with focus on the sub-national level. Based on a representative sample of 250 independent SMEs, based in the Leeds City Region (LCR) and using quantitative methods, this study provides evidence of the types of innovation that are most likely to result in achieving policy aims associated with for example the development of international markets or growth of employment opportunities. The findings show that there is a need for aligning business support for innovation with human capital (education/training) interventions. Furthermore, the findings provide a strong evidence base, at the local level, to inform the development of innovation policy and illustrate the connections between different types of innovation SMEs’ growth at regional level.

Methodologies for city-scale assessment of renewable energy generation potential to inform strategic energy infrastructure investment

In support of national and international policies to address climate change, local government actors across Europe and Asia are committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Many recognise the contribution that decentralised renewable electricity production can bring towards reducing emissions whilst also generating revenue. However, these actors are often subject to significant financial pressures, meaning a reliable and compelling business case is needed to justify upfront investment. This article develops a method for rapid comparison of initial project viability for multiple city sites and installation options using data from wind and solar resource prediction techniques. In doing so, detailed resource assessments grounded in academic research are made accessible and useful for city practitioners.Long term average wind speeds are predicted using a logarithmic vertical wind profile. This employs detailed three-dimensional building data to estimate aerodynamic parameters for the complex urban surface. Solar resource is modelled using a Geographical Information System-based methodology. This establishes the location and geometry of roof structures to estimate insolation, whilst accounting for shading effects from other buildings and terrain features. Project viability for potential installations is assessed in terms of the net present value over the lifespan of the technology and associated Feed-in Tariff incentive. Discounted return on investment is also calculated for all sites. The methodology is demonstrated for a case study of 6794 sites owned by Leeds City Council, UK. Results suggest significant potential for small-scale wind and solar power generation across council assets. A number of sites present a persuasive business case for investment, and in all cases, using the generated electricity on site improves financial viability. This indicates that initial installations should be sited at assets with high electricity demands. Overall, the work establishes a methodology that enables large city-level asset holders to make strategic investment decisions across their entire portfolio, which are based on financial assessment of wind and solar generation potential accurate to the individual asset scale. Such tools could facilitate strategic planning within cities and help to ensure that investment in renewable energy is focused at the most viable sites. In addition, the methodology can assist with asset management at the city scale by identifying sites with a higher market value as a result of their potential for renewable energy generation than otherwise might be estimated.