Human Geography research focuses around two main themes of Transport & Mobility and Digital Economy and Rural Change which has generated an annual research spend of around £1 million per year including bodies as diverse as EPSRC, ESRC, EU and Scottish Government. In Transport and Mobility significant momentum has developed through the Centre for Transport Research which has built an international reputation in the areas of public transport and intelligent mobility, new technological applications to transport, travel behaviour and the role of demand-side management in energy and climate change policy.
Our long standing reputation in transport and rural research was instrumental in securing the £12m RCUK Digital Economy Research Hub ('dot.rural'). This has led to the development of the Digital Economy and Rural Change Theme. A major focus is the issue of accessibility in rural areas, but additional projects document the patterns and precursors of transformational impact from digital technologies in rural areas. Research on rural change has achieved additional momentum through work on the links between agro-food governance with the new regionalism.