REP joins successful bid to the RCUK/CONFAP Research Partnerships Newton Fund

Dr David Botterill, Senior Research Fellow in the Oxford School of Hospitality Management, Oxford Brookes University and Professor Dr Sonia Sexias of the State University of Campinas' Centre for the Study of the Environment and Society (NEPAM) have led a successful bid to further develop a research partnership of UK and Brazilian academics under the RCUK CONFAP Newton Fund.

Joining Dr Botterill as co-investigators in the UK team are Professor Trevor Jones of the Cardiff Centre for Crime, Law and Justice, Cardiff University, and Dr Richard Nunes of the School of Real Estate & Planning at the University of Reading. Professor Seixas' co-investigators in the partnership are Professor João Luiz Hoeffel of the Centre for Sustainability Studies at FAAT College (NES/FAAT), Atibaia, São Paulo and Dr Jansle Vieira Rocha, a colleague from the Department of Agricultural Engineering at the State University of Campinas.

The 12 month long project entitled, 'Urban Coastal Transformations: Promoting transnational policy development in the governance of environmental quality and crime reduction' has been awarded jointly by the ESRC (Economic and Social Research Council) and the FAPESP (São Paulo Research Foundation) and provides £40,000 to support the partnership in delivering research of international quality and strong impact.

Urban settlements on the coast present a complex and dynamic set of physical, social and economic issues for policy makers concerned with environmental quality and crime reduction. During 2015, the research partnership members will conduct a comparative scoping study of best practice in the governance of environmental quality and crime reduction in urban coastal communities located in the North Coast region of São Paulo State and in South Wales, UK. This will enable the Brazilian and UK partners to study specific issues, policy contexts and policy communities of both countries in respect of environmental quality and crime reduction and identify priority research topics. In both case study areas there has been rapid and significant change in economic activity leading to a convergence of urban transformation problems that are similar in nature, but are different in magnitude. From the mid-20th century, both locales have seen a rapid decline of previously thriving maritime ports serving traditional, local, production in agriculture and fishing (North Coast) and coal and steel (South Wales). Consequently, the economic base of both locations has shifted towards a combination of developments in the energy industry alongside a transition from a production to a consumption and service industries-based economy. Central to the service economy, in both UK and Brazilian locales, is an increasing dependency on tourism and leisure, and a consequent growth in the creation of new tourism spaces.