Dr Gina Cavan
Senior Lecturer in GIS and Climate, Deputy Director of the Ecology & Environment Research Centre
My profile
Biography
I am a geographer with particular interests in applied climatology, urban ecosystems, and urban climate & adaptation. My research explores the interactions of climate with ecosystems and human societies in order to strengthen climate resilience and create healthy liveable cities. To do this I apply a range of techniques including GIS and environmental modelling tools. My research and teaching focuses upon cities across the UK, Europe, Africa and China.
Academic and professional qualifications
PhD in Geography and Planning - The University of Manchester
‘Climate change interactions with tourism and the landscape’
MSc in Applied Meteorology & Climatology (Distinction) - University of Birmingham
BSc in Geography - The University of Birmingham
Other academic service (administration and management)
Deputy Director of Ecology & Environment Research Centre
Expert reviewer for external funding bodies
Including NERC Highlight Topics, ESRC, COST (European Cooperation in Science & Technology).
Editorial Board membership
Academic Editor for PLOS Climate
Academic Editor (Science: GIS and Climate) for the Journal of Maps
Personal website address
Projects
My research addresses global challenges persistent in urban environments such as rapid urbanisation, degraded ecosystems, climate change, and social justice, through three interlinked themes: applied climatology, urban ecosystems, and urban climate & adaptation . My research emphasises interdisciplinary approaches, usually incorporating application of geographical information systems (GIS), and seeks to promote impactful research that influences policy and practice.
My recent funded projects include:
NERC: Motivating climate resilient action through Lego Serious Play
NERC: Assessing the contribution of domestic gardens to urban ecosystem services
NERC/ESRC/AHRC: Green Infrastructure and Health & Wellbeing Influences on an Ageing Population
Teaching
Why study Geography
Geography - a subject combining both social and natural sciences - is an essential subject that helps to tackle some of today’s most complex global challenges including climate change and disaster resilience, rapid urbanisation, degraded ecosystems, and social justice. The diverse interdisciplinary skill set of geographers places them in a unique position to contribute to solving such complex global challenges.
Supervision
PhD Supervision - In progress
Yaa Serwaa Sarpong - Green infrastructure planning approaches for urban spatial planning in sub-Sahara Africa
Rebecca Clarke - Stroke in young adults: The influence of an outdoor-walking rehabilitation programme on walking performance and quality of life
Iliya Nebebe - Monitoring and modelling disturbances to Niger Delta Mangrove Forest using Ecosystem-based approaches
PhD Supervision - Completed
Dr Paul Preston - The potential contribution of brownfield ecosystem services to urban resilience. Destination: Consultancy.
Dr Fraser Baker - Spatiotemporal dynamics in regulating ecosystem services of urban green-blue infrastructure. Destination: Post-Doctoral Researcher at Manchester Metropolitan University.
Dr Daniel Niepsch - Lichen biomonitoring and atmospheric pollution. Destination: British Geological Survey.
Dr Rachael Reynolds - Predictive modelling to assess changes in ecosystem components associated with disease in Tanzania. Destination: Lecturer, University of Chester.
PhD Supervision - Prospective
I welcome applications from prospective PhD or MSc research students to study within the following topic areas: urban green infrastructure, urban ecosystems, applied climatology, urban climate and adaptation.
Research outputs
Publications are listed below.
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Chapters in books
Cavan, G., Baker, F., Tzoulas, K., Smith, C.L. (2022) 'Manchester : the role of urban domestic gardens in climate adaptation and resilience.' In Ren, C., McGregor, G. (ed.) Urban Climate Science for Planning Healthy Cities. Springer Nature Switzerland, pp. 99-118.
Cavan, G., Baker, F., Tzoulas, K., Smith, C.L. (2021) 'Correction to: Manchester: The Role of Urban Domestic Gardens in Climate Adaptation and Resilience.' Biometeorology.
Smith, C., Cavan, G., Lindley, S. (2015) 'Urban climatic map studies in UK: Greater Manchester.' The Urban Climatic Map: A Methodology for Sustainable Urban Planning. pp. 261-273.
Cavan, G., Butlin, T., Gill, S., Kingston, R., Lindley, S. (2015) 'Web-gis tools for climate change adaptation planning in cities.' Handbook of Climate Change Adaptation. pp. 2161-2191.
Cavan, G., Butlin, T., Gill, S., Kingston, R., Lindley, S. (2015) 'Web-GIS Tools for Climate Change Adaptation Planning in Cities.' Handbook of Climate Change Adaptation. Springer Berlin Heidelberg, pp. 2161-2191.
McMorrow, J., Lindley, S., Aylen, J., Cavan, G., Albertson, K.V., Boys, D. (2009) 'Moorland Wildfire Risk, Visitors and Climate Change: Patterns, Prevention and Policy.' Drivers of Environmental Change in Uplands. Routledge,
McMorrow, J., Lindley, S., Aylen, J., Cavan, G., Albertson, K., Boys, D. (2009) 'Moorland wildfire risk, visitors and climate change: Patterns, prevention and policy.' Drivers of Environmental Change in Uplands. pp. 404-431.
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Reports
Kamierczak, A., Cavan, G., Lindley, S., Connelly, A. (2015) Mapping Flood Disadvantage in Scotland. The Scottish Government.
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Journal articles
Niepsch, D., Clarke, L.J., Jones, R.G., Tzoulas, K., Cavan, G. (2024) 'Lichen biomonitoring to assess spatial variability, potential sources and human health risks of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and airborne metal concentrations in Manchester (UK).' Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 196(4)
Niepsch, D., Clarke, L.J., Newton, J., Tzoulas, K., Cavan, G. (2023) 'High spatial resolution assessment of air quality in urban centres using lichen carbon, nitrogen and sulfur contents and stable-isotope-ratio signatures.' Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 30(20) pp. 58731-58754.
Preston, P., Dunk, R., Smith, G., Cavan, G. (2022) 'Not all brownfields are equal: a typological assessment reveals hidden green space in the city.' Landscape and Urban Planning, 229pp. 104590-104590.
Dennis, M., Barker, A., Anderson, J., Ashton, J.C., Cavan, G., Cook, P.A., French, D., Gilchrist, A., James, P., Phillipson, C., Tzoulas, K., Wheater, C.P., Wossink, A., Lindley, S. (2022) 'Integrating knowledge on green infrastructure, health and well-being in ageing populations: Principles for research and practice.' Ambio, 52(1) pp. 107-125.
Niepsch, D., Clarke, L.J., Tzoulas, K., Cavan, G. (2021) 'Distinguishing atmospheric nitrogen compounds (nitrate and ammonium) in lichen biomonitoring studies.' Environmental Science: Processes & Impacts, 23(12) pp. 2021-2036.
Niepsch, D., Clarke, L.J., Tzoulas, K., Cavan, G. (2021) 'Spatiotemporal variability of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) pollution in Manchester (UK) city centre (2017-2018) using a fine spatial scale single-NOx diffusion tube network.' Environmental Geochemistry and Health: official journal of the Society for Environmental Geochemistry and Health, 44(11) pp. 3907-3927.
Nababa, I.I., Symeonakis, E., Koukoulas, S., Higginbottom, T.P., Cavan, G., Marsden, S. (2020) 'Land Cover Dynamics and Mangrove Degradation in the Niger Delta Region.' Remote Sensing, 12(21) pp. 3619-3619.
Baker, F., Smith, G., Marsden, S., Cavan, G. (2020) 'Mapping regulating ecosystem service deprivation in urban areas: a transferable high-spatial resolution uncertainty aware approach.' Ecological Indicators, 121pp. 107058-107058.
Baker, F., Smith, C.L., Cavan, G. (2018) 'A combined approach to classifying land surface cover of urban domestic gardens using citizen science data and high resolution image analysis.' Remote Sensing, 10(4)
Dennis, M., Barlow, D., Cavan, G., Cook, P., Gilchrist, A., Handley, J., James, P., Thompson, J., Konstantinos, T., Wheater, C., Lindley, S. (2018) 'Mapping Urban Green Infrastructure: A Novel Landscape-Based Approach to Incorporating Land Use and Land Cover in the Mapping of Human-Dominated Systems.' Land, 7(1)
Reynolds, R., Cavan, G., Cresswell, M. (2017) 'The local response of El Niño events and changing disease distribution in Tanzania.' Weather, 72(7) pp. 206-215.
Kong, F., Sun, C., Liu, F., Yin, H., Jiang, F., Pu, Y., Cavan, G., Skelhorn, C., Middel, A., Dronova, I. (2016) 'Energy saving potential of fragmented green spaces due to their temperature regulating ecosystem services in the summer.' Applied Energy, 183pp. 1428-1440.
O Hare, P., Cavan, G., Filho, W.L. (2016) 'Introduction to the special issue on adaptive flood risk management.' Natural Hazards, 82pp. 145-148.
Kong, F., Yan, W., Zheng, G., Yin, H., Cavan, G., Zhan, W., Zhang, N., Cheng, L. (2016) 'Retrieval of three-dimensional tree canopy and shade using terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) data to analyze the cooling effect of vegetation.' Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, 217pp. 22-34.
Carter, J.G., Cavan, G., Connelly, A., Guy, S., Handley, J., Kazmierczak, A. (2015) 'Climate change and the city: Building capacity for urban adaptation.' Progress in Planning, 95
Aylen, J., Albertson, K., Cavan, G. (2014) 'The impact of weather and climate on tourist demand: the case of Chester Zoo.' Climatic Change, 127(2) pp. 183-197.
Cavan, G.M., Kong, F., Yin, H., Wang, C., James, P. (2014) 'A satellite image-based analysis of factors contributing to the green-space cool island intensity on a city scale.' Urban Forestry and Urban Greening, 13(4) pp. 846-853.
Cavan, G., Lindley, S., Jalayer, F., Yeshitela, K., Pauleit, S., Renner, F., Gill, S., Capuano, P., Nebebe, A., Woldegerima, T., Kibassa, D., Shemdoe, R. (2014) 'Urban morphological determinants of temperature regulating ecosystem services in two African cities.' Ecological Indicators, 42pp. 43-57.
Jalayer, F., De Risi, R., De Paola, F., Giugni, M., Manfredi, G., Gasparini, P., Topa, M.E., Yonas, N., Yeshitela, K., Nebebe, A., Cavan, G., Lindley, S., Printz, A., Renner, F. (2014) 'Probabilistic GIS-based method for delineation of urban flooding risk hotspots.' Natural Hazards, 73(2) pp. 975-1001.
Cavan, G., Kingston, R. (2012) 'Development of a climate change risk and vulnerability assessment tool for urban areas.' International Journal of Disaster Resilience in the Built Environment, 3(3) pp. 253-269.
Kazmierczak, A., Cavan, G. (2011) 'Surface water flooding risk to urban communities: Analysis of vulnerability, hazard and exposure.' LANDSCAPE AND URBAN PLANNING, 103(2) pp. 185-197.
Kazmierczak, A., Cavan, G., Carter, J., Handley, J., Guy, S. (2010) 'Deep green or white hot? The future of Oxford Road Corridor in Manchester, UK.' COBRA 2010 - Construction, Building and Real Estate Research Conference of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors,
Albertson, K., Aylen, J., Cavan, G., McMorrow, J. (2010) 'Climate change and the future occurrence of moorland wildfires in the Peak District of the UK.' Climate Research, 45(1) pp. 105-118.
Cavan, G., Kingston, R., Lindley, S., Kazmierczak, A., Carter, J., Gong, Y., Handley, J. (2010) 'Climate change and urban areas: Development of a climate change risk and vulnerability assessment tool.' COBRA 2010 - Construction, Building and Real Estate Research Conference of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors,
Albertson, K., Aylen, J., Cavan, G., McMorrow, J. (2009) 'Forecasting the outbreak of moorland wildfires in the English Peak District..' J Environ Manage, 90(8) pp. 2642-2651.
McEvoy, D., Cavan, G., Handley, J., McMorrow, J., Lindley, S. (2008) 'Changes to climate and visitor behaviour: Implications for vulnerable landscapes in the north west region of England.' JOURNAL OF SUSTAINABLE TOURISM, 16(1) pp. 101-121.
Cavan, G., Handley, J.F., Aylen, J., Albertson, K., McMorrow, J., Lindley, S., McEvoy, D. (2006) 'Climate change and the visitor economy in the uplands.' International Journal of Biodiversity Science and Management, 2(3) pp. 170-173.
Cavan, G.M., Thornes, J.E., Chapman, L. (2005) 'XRWIS: the use of geomatics to predict winter road surface temperatures in Poland.' Meteorological Applications, 12(1) pp. 83-90.
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Conference papers
Cavan, G., Fletcher, C., Baker, F., Tzoulas, K., Smith, C. (2022) '“I converted an old wheelie bin into a water butt”: Citizen’s motivations & barriers to implementing action to enhance biodiversity and ecosystem services in urban gardens.' In URBIO 2022: “Integrating Biodiversity in Urban Planning and Design Processes”. Leipzig, Germany, 28/11/2022 - 30/11/2022.
Cavan, G. (2020) 'The contribution of gardens to urban ecosystem services in Manchester.' In Natural Capital Group Annual Conference. Manchester, 11/2/2020 - 11/2/2020.
Cavan, G., Lindley, S., Dennis, M. (2020) 'Exploring the needs, provision & value of green infrastructure for older people with the GHIA online tools.' In Green Infrastructure Influences on an Ageing Population Final Conference. Manchester, 7/1/2020 - 7/1/2020.
Preston, P., Cavan, G., Dunk, R., Smith, G. (2019) 'A new approach for the city-scale assessment of brownfield land and impact upon climate resilience.' In SEGH 2019 - 35th International Conference on Geochemistry and Health. Manchester, UK, 1/7/2019 - 5/7/2019.
Cavan, G., Fletcher, C., Baker, F., Tzoulas, K., Smith, C. (2019) 'Co-production of knowledge on urban gardens to aid urban planning and encourage citizens to implement local scale adaptation solutions.' In European Conference on Climate Change Adaptation. Lisbon, 28/5/2019 - 31/5/2019.
Dunk, R., Cavan, G., Mork, J. (2019) 'Evaluation of climate literacy training: Taking action to improve urban resilience.' In European Conference on Climate Change Adaptation. Lisbon, 28/5/2019 - 30/5/2019.
Cavan, G., Baker, F., Smith, C. (2018) 'Using volunteered geographic information to characterize garden composition for modelling climate regulation potential.' In 10th International Conference on Urban Climate jointly with the 14th Symposium on the Urban Environment. New York, USA, 8/8/2018 - 10/8/2018.
Cavan, G., Kazmierczak, A., Connelly, A., Lindley, S. (2017) 'Multi-dimensional social vulnerability and flood disadvantage assessment to support socially just flood risk management.' In 21st International Congress on Biometeorology. Durham, UK, 3/9/2017 - 7/9/2017.
Hamshire, C., Cavan, G., Fatoye, F.A. (2017) 'An exploration of the benefits of an urban park for promoting health and well-being.' In WCPT 2017. Cape Town, 2/7/2017 - 5/7/2017.
Cavan, G. (2017) 'What’s in your back yard? Using citizen science to understand the contribution of gardens to urban ecosystem services.' In Green Infrastructure Nature Based Solutions for Sustainable and Resilient Cities. Orvieto, Italy, 4/4/2017 - 7/4/2017.
Cavan, G. (2015) 'Enhancing adaptation to climate change in urban environments through brownfield land.' In ICUC9 - 9th International Conference on Urban Climate jointly with the 12th Symposium on the Urban Environment. Toulouse, France,
Cavan, G. (2014) 'The Manchester case for green infrastructure.' In Nature in the City. Paris, France,
Cavan, G., Smith, C., Lindley, S. (2012) 'Approaches to urban climatic maps: application of a risk-based framework.' In ICUC8 - 8th International Conference on Urban Climate. Dublin, Ireland, 6/8/2012 - 10/8/2012.
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Presentations
Hamshire, C.H., Cavan, G., Fatoye, F. (2017) An Exploration of the Benefits of an urban park for promoting health and well-being. [Presentation] Cape Town,2/7/2017.