- Health and wellbeing in cities - Cultural contributions from urban form in the Global South context
- Using a co-created transdisciplinary approach to explore the complexity of air pollution in informal settlements
- Assessing inequalities in wellbeing at a neighbourhood scale in low-middle-income-country secondary cities and their implications for long-term livability
- Citizen science and the Sustainable Development Goals in low and middle income country cities
- Transforming urban planning processes and outcomes through creative methods
Steve Cinderby has over 25 years of professional experience working in developing country and European research projects focused on community resilience, co-benefits of sustainable development initiatives and participatory development. He has specialised in the use of geographic information systems (GIS), participatory methods and behaviour change initiatives.
His Participatory GIS methods have been applied in developing countries assessing natural resource use and agriculture water management; urban travel behaviour and road-safety issues; and in the UK investigating environmental concerns including air quality, flood management, rural inequalities and urban redevelopment.
He co-leads the SEI Initiative on City Health & Wellbeing investigating the impacts of secondary cities urban form on human and environmental health. This cross-centre initiative has case study cities in Kenya and Thailand where activities include participatory GIS and wellbeing surveys to assess how city environments are affecting mental health alongside in situ physiological measurements to quantify the impact of different urban environments.
He leads work investigating the potential of creative methods to co-design novel development solutions. In East African cities these projects have focused upon mobility & road safety, and air pollution and health. In the UK these methods have been used to look at pro-environmental behaviour change and food waste reduction.
Steve has contributed to assessments of the research gaps around urban development for Sida and the interactions of urban SDGs for the Swedish Government.
He has extensive experience of project management and has provided training and capacity building institutes in diverse locations including Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Thailand, the Netherlands, South Africa, China, Ivory Coast, and India.
Steve has supervised a number of PhD students focused on development challenges including the impacts of REDD+ schemes; novel air pollution monitoring approaches; and the potential of adaptive flood management in developing countries. His current students are looking at urbanisation and community resilience issues in China and Kuwait; sustainable urban mobility plans; and influence of media representation on environmental campaigning impacts.”
He has written over 30 academic papers and book chapters over the past ten years and served as Deputy Director of the York centre between 1999 and 2014.