Urban wasteland being revamped with greenery

GALLANT - Glasgow as a Living Lab Accelerating Novel Transformation

Delivering a Climate Resilient City through City-University Partnership

What is GALLANT?

The University of Glasgow, in partnership with Glasgow City Council, are working on a £10.2 million research programme: GALLANT - Glasgow as a Living Lab Accelerating Novel Transformation. Funded by UKRI NERC as part of their Changing the Environment investment, University researchers are helping the city move towards climate resilience whilst tackling health, social and economic inequalities.

GALLANT will use Glasgow as a living lab to trial new sustainable solutions throughout the city. GALLANT takes a whole-systems approach. While addressing the city’s key environmental challenges, the programme will consider the co-benefits and trade-offs for public health, wellbeing, and the economy. GALLANT aims to deliver the social priorities of the UN Sustainable Development Goals while remaining within the planetary boundaries of a 1.5°C world - using doughnut economics as a framework. 

GALLANT started on 31st January 2022 under the leadership of Centre for Sustainable Solutions Director, Professor Jaime L. Toney, and in collaboration with 29 key programme partners from a variety of public bodies, community groups and businesses. The University of Glasgow team will build on existing inter-disciplinary academic collaborations, and develop new ones, as well as new ways of working to suit these urgent challenges, with over 50 researchers from across our Schools, Colleges, and Institutes, and ten exciting PhD projects.

GALLANT video thumbnail

Professor Toney says:

"Together we aim not only to bring nature back into the city system, but make meaningful, lasting change that embeds sustainability across major policy decisions and empowers communities as stewards of their local places. GALLANT will work with local partners and communities to transform the city into a thriving place for people and nature. GALLANT will help Glasgow achieve its goal to be carbon neutral by 2030 and accelerate its path to climate resilience."

The aim of this research partnership is to boost Glasgow's transition to climate resilience through:

  • Designing, implementing and testing a translatable whole-system approach to urban environmental and wellbeing challenges to deliver the social priorities of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, while remaining within the ecological ceiling defined by the planetary boundaries of a 1.5C world, and
  • Working with our partners and local communities to co-produce and deliver five interdependent, mutually reinforcing environmental solutions for climate resilience that build capacity for ongoing innovation in the Glasgow living lab.

The five solutions are:

  1. To address flood risk related to tidal changessea level rise, and increased water from extreme weather events. GALLANT aims to transform land use along the River Clyde by identifying sites for urban corridor parks for flood water storage, while also improving areas along the Clyde for wildlife and people.
  2. To halt biodiversity loss by restoring and connecting currently isolated habitat patches. GALLANT will improve biodiversity by restoring and connecting habitats across Glasgow. Citizens will play a key role in helping researchers to map important bird and mammal species that lead to new management practices in greenspaces to increase connectivity between habitats. 
  3. To trial new ways of regenerating derelict and polluted land through technology that mineralises greenhouse gases and traps organic pollutants into building materials for the future, as well as returning these sites for community use and ecologically functional places.
  4. To enhance the connectivity that is important not only for nature, but for active travel and inclusive mobility. GALLANT will work with communities to increase active travel including cycling, wheeling and walking to reduce car journeys, improve air quality and reduce carbon dioxide emissions. 
  5. To tackle sustainable energy as a key challenge to achieving net zero carbon. GALLANT will develop sustainable low carbon energy solutions at the community scale that empower local people as active energy citizens to co-create clean energy demand.

Through our living lab approach we will learn how to create solutions that are place-based and meaningful to local people. Our global network of partners, means that we will exchange our learning and solutions with both academics and policy leaders across the world. This is an exciting opportunity for Glasgow to lead and carry on the legacy from the recent COP26. 

The GALLANT Team

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GALLANT Leadership Team

NameRoleSchool / Subject / Unit

Prof Jaime L Toney (GALLANT Principal Investigator)

College of Science and Engineering

Professor in Environmental and Climate Science

Director

Co-Chair

School of Geographical and Earth Sciences

Centre for Sustainable Solutions

University of Glasgow Sustainability Working Group

Prof Petra Meier (GALLANT Co-PI)

School of Health & Wellbeing

Professor of Public Health

Associate Director 

MRC/CSO Social & Public Health Sciences Unit

Centre for Sustainable Solutions

Prof Marian Scott (GALLANT Co-PI)

College of Science and Engineering

Professor of Environmental StatisticsSchool of Mathematics and Statistics

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GALLANT Management Team

NameRoleSchool / Subject / Unit

Sarah Currier

College of Science and Engineering

Programme Manager

GALLANT Programme

Cameron Mackay 

College of Science and Engineering

Programme Communications Coordinator

GALLANT Programme

Saba Saeed

College of Science and Engineering

Programme Monitoring and Evaluation CoordinatorGALLANT Programme

Elaine Docherty

College of Science and Engineering

Programme AdministratorGALLANT Programme

Nicola Smock

Research & Innovation Services

Centre for Sustainable Solutions CoordinatorCentre for Sustainable Solutions

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Systems Science Team

Name / CollegeRoleSchool / Subject / Unit

Prof John Crawford (Team Co-Lead)

College of Social Sciences

Professor in Strategy and Technology ManagementAdam Smith Business School

Prof Petra Meier (Team Co-Lead)

School of Health & Wellbeing

Professor of Public Health

Associate Director 

MRC/CSO Social & Public Health Sciences Unit

Centre for Sustainable Solutions

Prof Denis Fischbacher-Smith

College of Social Sciences

Research Chair in Risk and Resilience

Visiting Professor of Risk Management

Adam Smith Business School

School of Interdisciplinary Studies

Prof Graeme Roy

College of Social Sciences

Dean of External Engagement

Professor in Economics

College Senior Management

Adam Smith Business School

Dr Annika Hjelmskog

School of Health & Wellbeing

Glasgow's City Portrait Research Associate

Research Associate in Systems Thinking and Modelling

MRC/CSO Social & Public Health Sciences Unit

Dr Cris Hasan

College of Social Sciences

Research Associate in Complex Systems Modelling & Visualisation

Adam Smith Business School

Amy Stevenson

College of Medical, Veterinary & Life Sciences

Postgraduate Researcher School of Health & Wellbeing 

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Community Collaboration Team

Name / CollegeRoleSchool / Subject / Unit

Dr Ria Dunkley (Team Lead)

College of Social Sciences

Senior Lecturer in Geography, Environment and Sustainability

Core Member

School of Education

Centre for Research and Development in Adult and Lifelong Learning (CRADALL)

Prof Minty Donald

College of Arts

Professor of Contemporary Performance Practice 

School of Culture & Creative Arts 

Dr Nai Rui Chng

School of Health & Wellbeing

College of Social Sciences

Research Associate

Post Doctoral Research Associate

Research Associate in Innovative Methods for Co-Evaluating Collaborative Community Practices (GALLANT)

MRC/CSO Social & Public Health Sciences Unit

School of Health & Wellbeing Social Sciences

School of Education

Dr Rhys Williams

College of Arts

Lecturer in Energy & Environmental Humanities

Associate Director

School of Critical Studies

Centre for Sustainable Solutions

Dr Russell Jones

Glasgow Centre for Population Health

Public Health Programme Manager

GCPH 

Prof Adrian Boyce

Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre

Professor of Applied Geology

Manager of NEIF Stable Isotope Laboratory

SUERC 

Dr Sarah Gambell

College of Social Sciences

Research Associate in Applied Creative Practices in Communities

School of Education

Dr Florence Halstead

College of Social Sciences

Research Associate in Innovative Methods for Co-Producing Collaborative Community Practices

School of Education

Dr James Bonner

Affiliate

Research Associate University of Strathclyde 

Sarah-Jane Hamilton

College of Social Sciences

Postgraduate Researcher School of Education 

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Data and Data Analytics Team

Name / CollegeRoleSchool / Subject / Unit

Prof Claire Miller (Team Lead)

College of Science and Engineering

Professor of Statistics School of Mathematics and Statistics

Prof Ana Basiri

College of Science and Engineering

Professor of Geospatial Data Science 

School of Geographical and Earth Sciences 

Prof Marian Scott

College of Science and Engineering

Professor of Environmental Statistics

School of Mathematics and Statistics

Prof Nick Bailey 

College of Social Sciences

Professor

Associate

Director

Urban Studies

School of Health & Wellbeing 

Urban Big Data Centre

Dr Luigi Cao Pinna

College of Science and Engineering

Research Associate in Urban Environmental Data Analytics

School of Mathematics and Statistics

Barbara Alvarez Solanilla

College of Social Sciences

Senior Research Engineering ManagerUrban Big Data Centre

Andy Clarke

College of Social Sciences

Data Scientist (Digital Storytelling Engineer) Urban Big Data Centre 

To be appointed

Research Computing Infrastructure ManagerUrban Big Data Centre 

Heather Sinclair

College of Social Sciences

Information Services Officer Urban Big Data Centre 

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Flood Adaptation & Creation of Riverscapes Team

Name / CollegeRoleSchool / Subject / Unit

Prof Larissa Naylor (Team Co-Lead)

College of Science and Engineering

Professor of Geomorphology and Environmental GeographySchool of Geographical and Earth Sciences

Dr Martin Hurst (Team Co-Lead)

College of Science and Engineering

Lecturer in Physical Geography

School of Geographical and Earth Sciences

Dr Giedre Jokubauskaite 

College of Social Sciences

Lecturer in International Law

School of Law

Dr John Shi

College of Social Sciences

Senior Lecturer in Hydrology

School of Interdisciplinary Studies

Dr Richard Williams

College of Science and Engineering

Senior Lecturer in Fluvial Geomorphology and Geospatial Science

School of Geographical and Earth Sciences

Dr Octria Adi Prosojo

College of Science and Engineering

Research Associate in Modelling the Potential for Nature-Based Solutions to Mitigate Flood Risk

School of Geographical and Earth Sciences

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Restoring Biodiversity Team

NameRoleSchool / Subject / Unit

Dr Dominic McCafferty (Team Co-Lead)

College of Medical, Veterinary & Life Sciences

Senior Lecturer

Associate

School of Biodiversity, One Health & Veterinary Medicine

School of Life Sciences

Dr Thorsten Balke (Team Co-Lead)

College of Science and Engineering

Senior Lecturer in Physical Geography and Landscape EcologySchool of Geographical and Earth Sciences

Dr Davide Dominoni

College of Medical, Veterinary & Life Sciences

Lecturer in Urban EcologySchool of Biodiversity, One Health & Veterinary Medicine

Dr Ria Dunkley

College of Social Sciences

Senior Lecturer in Geography, Environment and Sustainability

Core Member

School of Education

Centre for Research and Development in Adult and Lifelong Learning (CRADALL)

Dr Anna Bracken

College of Medical, Veterinary & Life Sciences

Research Associate in Spatial Ecology

School of Biodiversity, One Health & Veterinary Medicine

Dr Alejandra Vovides

College of Science and Engineering

Research Associate in Urban Wetland Ecology

School of Geographical and Earth Sciences

Emma Plant

College of Science and Engineering

Postgraduate Researcher School of Geographical and Earth Sciences 

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Regenerating Derelict Land Team

Name / CollegeRoleSchool / Subject / Unit

Dr Caroline Gauchotte-Lindsay (Team Co-Lead)

College of Science and Engineering

Senior Lecturer (Infrastructure & Environment)

James Watt School of Engineering

Prof Cise Unluer (Team Co-Lead)

Faculty of Science & Engineering (University of Manchester)

Professor of Engineering Net Zero  Department of Mechanical, Aerospace & Civil Engineering

Dr Adrian Bass

College of Science and Engineering

Senior Lecturer

School of Geographical and Earth Sciences

Dr John MacDonald

College of Science and Engineering

Lecturer in Earth Sciences

School of Geographical and Earth Sciences

Dr Carla Comadran Casas

College of Science and Engineering

Research Associate in Carbon Sequestration

James Watt School of Engineering

Heloisa Dickinson

College of Science and Engineering

Postgraduate Researcher James Watt School of Engineering 

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Promoting Active Travel Team

Name / CollegeRoleSchool / Subject / Unit

Prof Cindy Gray (Team Co-Lead)

School of Health & Wellbeing

Interdisciplinary Professor of Health and BehaviourSchool of Health & Wellbeing Social Sciences

Prof Jason Gill (Team Co-Lead)

College of Medical, Veterinary & Life Sciences

Professor of Cardiometabolic Health

Associate

Associate

Institute of Cardiovascular & Medical Sciences

School of Health & Wellbeing 

School of Life Sciences

Prof Alex McConnachie 

School of Health & Wellbeing

Professor of Clinical Trial Biostatistics

Associate 

Robertson Centre for Biostatistics

School of Medicine, Dentistry & Nursing

Bruce Whyte

Glasgow Centre for Population Health

Public Health Programme Manager

 GCPH

Dr David McArthur

College of Social Sciences

Senior Lecturer

Associate Director – Training and Capacity Building

Urban Studies

Urban Big Data Centre

Prof Emma McIntosh

School of Health & Wellbeing

Professor of Health Economics

Associate

Health Economics & Health Technology Assessment

School of Medicine, Dentistry & Nursing

Prof Nick Bailey 

College of Social Sciences

Professor

Associate

Director

Urban Studies

School of Health & Wellbeing 

Urban Big Data Centre

Dr Emma Lawlor

College of Medical, Veterinary & Life Sciences

Research Associate in Sustainable Urban Mobility Institute of Cardiovascular & Medical Sciences 

Liz Coyle

College of Medical, Veterinary & Life Sciences

AdministratorCollege of Medical, Veterinary & Life Sciences

Heather Fraser

College of Medical, Veterinary & Life Sciences

Health EconomistHealth Economics & Health Technology Assessment

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Community Scale Sustainable Low Carbon Energy Team

Name / CollegeRoleSchool / Subject / Unit

Prof Gioia Falcone (Team Lead)

College of Science and Engineering

Rankine Chair of Energy Engineering

Associate Director

James Watt School of Engineering

Centre for Sustainable Solutions

Dr Anastasia Ioannou

College of Science and Engineering

Lecturer in Sustainable Resources (Systems Power & Energy)

James Watt School of Engineering

Dr Andrea Cammarano

College of Science and Engineering

Senior Lecturer (Systems Power & Energy)

James Watt School of Engineering

Dr Graeme Hunt

College of Science and Engineering

Research Associate in Sustainable Energy Solutions James Watt School of Engineering 

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GALLANT Key Partners

  • Glasgow City Council
  • C40 Cities
  • Korn Ferry
  • Deloitte MCS Limited
  • UNECE (UN Economic Commission Europe) - Sustainable Energy Division
  • The Alan Turing Institute
  • Bike for Good
  • NERC British Geological Survey
  • Cycling Scotland
  • Environment Agency - Thames RFCC (Flood & Coastal Comm)
  • ERS (Environmental Reclamation Services) Remediation
  • Glasgow Natural History Society
  • Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery
  • ITM Mechanical Solutions
  • NatureScot (Scottish Natural Heritage)
  • Paths for All
  • Ramboll UK
  • RSPB Scotland
  • Scottish Environment Protection Agency
  • SLR Consulting Limited (UK)
  • Star Refrigeration Ltd
  • Sustrans
  • Zero Waste Scotland
  • CSIRO - Climate Science Centre, CSIRO Oceans
  • Seven Lochs Wetland Park
  • Clyde Mission
  • Glasgow Life