About the project
Rapid urban growth is fuelling demand for river sand, but sand mining poses risks to riverside communities.
By 2050, over two thirds of the world’s population will live in cities. Urban growth is fuelling huge demand for sand, a vital construction material, much of which is mined from rivers. However, sand mining poses numerous environmental risks. Deepened channels transmit flood waves to downstream reaches more rapidly. The increased height of riverbanks triggers landslides.
Meanwhile, urbanisation often involves communities encroaching onto floodplains. Consequently, material flows of sand between rivers and cities are a critical component of coupled river-city systems, shaping the ways in which populations’ exposure and resilience to environmental risks change as cities grow.
Yet, insight into the nature of sand flows across different cities is entirely absent. Employing a complex systems framework, and using new geospatial methods and datasets.
This project will address critical research questions:
- What are the flows of sand from rivers to cities?
- Can these flows be linked to different patterns of urban development?
- What is the impact on river environments and how does this change exposure to river-related risks?
The intention is to address these questions across a range of African and Asian cities on different urban growth trajectories, with the insights gained helping to shape debates about how urban planning can promote enhanced resilience.
You will be supervised by experts in urban geographies and fluvial systems, drawn from the Landscape Dynamics and Ecology and Economy Society and Governance research groups at Southampton’s School of Geography and Environmental Sciences and interacting with Southampton’s world-leading WorldPop group and Sustainability and Resilience Institute.
