Creating sustainable cities and communities means finding ways for places to become more inclusive, resilient and environmentally sustainable while responding to pressures from climate change, population growth and changing infrastructure needs.
At ARU, this challenge brings together research spanning the built environment, transport, water and infrastructure, community participation, heritage and climate resilience.
Through our Sustainable Futures research theme and centres including StoryLab, researchers work with communities and regional, national and international partners to develop solutions that connect environmental sustainability with people's experiences of the places in which they live.
Our current work in this area ranges from improving the resilience of urban water systems and exploring greener transport to safeguarding cultural heritage and helping communities adapt to climate, conflict and displacement.
Supporting sustainable and resilient regional development
Our Sustainable Futures research and innovation theme works with stakeholders at local, national and international scales to support environmentally and socially just transitions. Research in this area examines issues including sustainable housing, green infrastructure, community resilience, circular economy approaches and citizen engagement. In 2025, we hosted the Delivering a Regional Sustainability Vision conference, bringing together community organisations, local authorities, businesses and researchers to explore how economic growth and infrastructure development can be balanced with environmental sustainability and community wellbeing.
Advancing safe and inclusive communities
ARU's Safe and Inclusive Communities research theme brings together researchers working to address some of the most pressing social challenges facing communities locally and globally.
The theme focuses on understanding how communities can become safer, fairer and more inclusive, with research spanning social justice, participation, inequality, migration, health and wellbeing, community resilience and civic engagement. A distinctive feature of this work is its emphasis on collaboration with communities, policymakers and practitioners to ensure that research leads to tangible improvements in people's lives.
Research produced through this theme is translating into real-world impact. Projects across the theme have supported refugees, migrants and asylum seekers, informed local and regional responses to health inequalities, strengthened community participation in sustainability transitions, and contributed to public debates around justice, inclusion and belonging.
Supporting community-led sustainability transitions across Europe
The Global Sustainability Institute at ARU leads the €5 million SHARED GREEN DEAL project, a major European initiative involving 22 organisations and 24 local social experiments across Europe. The project examines how citizens, community groups, businesses and policymakers can work together to create more sustainable and inclusive places. Rather than focusing solely on technological solutions, SHARED GREEN DEAL investigates how community participation, local knowledge and social innovation can support climate action and improve quality of life within neighbourhoods and cities. The project is already contributing evidence to support local and regional implementation of the European Green Deal and is helping communities shape decision-making around transport, housing, energy, food systems and biodiversity preservation.
Using culture and heritage to strengthen community resilience
Through the Heritage-led Resilience project, researchers from ARU's StoryLab and Global Sustainability Institute are investigating how cultural heritage can help vulnerable communities respond to climate change, displacement and conflict. The project explores the experiences of Syrian refugees in Jordan and examines how preserving cultural identity, stories and heritage can contribute to wellbeing, resilience and belonging. By demonstrating the value of heritage as a community asset, the project is helping policymakers and practitioners understand how cultural resources can support social cohesion and resilience in communities affected by environmental and social disruption.
Improving resilience in communities facing environmental change
Researchers from ARU were involved in the Connect4 Water Resilience project to understand the links between water resources and community resilience across the Limpopo Basin in southern Africa. The project brought together environmental, social and governance perspectives to explore how communities can better manage water resources while adapting to social and environmental pressures. The research provided insights into how climate risks, resource management and local decision-making influence the sustainability of communities and livelihoods.
Promoting cultural participation and place-based identity through digital storytelling
ARU's StoryLab researches how digital technologies and storytelling can strengthen cultural participation, preserve heritage and help communities engage with the places where they live. Projects such as Let's Go Fly the Kite work with residents and visitors in Cambridge to explore local history and develop living archives that support future community identity and place-making. Other projects investigate cultural heritage, language preservation and community memory, helping communities document and celebrate their histories while shaping future development.
Air quality based green routing to instil citizen behaviour changes
Through the Air Quality Based Green Routing to Instil Citizen Behaviour Changes project, ARU researchers worked with Colchester Borough Council to compare air pollution levels along parallel cycling and driving routes in Cambridge and Colchester. Using measurements of particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5) and nitrogen dioxide (NO₂), the team created interactive pollution maps showing that routes passing through parks and green spaces consistently had lower pollution levels than roads dominated by traffic.
Rather than simply studying air quality, the project tested how environmental information can be used to influence behaviour. By making pollution data publicly accessible through interactive heatmaps, the research encouraged residents to choose cleaner and more sustainable travel routes, supporting both public health and climate action. The findings demonstrate how evidence-based interventions can help citizens make more sustainable choices, contributing to reduced transport emissions and more responsible patterns of consumption.
Last updated: October 2026
To request additions, corrections or changes to the information in these pages, please contact: Dr Zareen Bharucha: [email protected]. Please use the subject line ‘ARU SDG’.