- School of Environmental Sciences
- University of East Anglia
- Norwich
- NR4 7TJ
- UK
- +44 (0)1603 591361
Alice Dalton UEA
Senior Research Associate
Current research
I am currently working on a project entitled 'Commuting and Health in Cambridge: a study of a 'natural experiment' in the provision of new transport infrastructure’. The study is sponsored and conducted by the Medical Research Council (MRC) Epidemiology Unit, Cambridge, in collaboration with the University of East Anglia and University College London under the auspices of the Centre for Diet and Activity Research (CEDAR), one of five new centres of excellence in public health research funded by the UK Clinical Research Collaboration (UKCRC). Phase I of the study (2009) was funded by the MRC, the Phase II and beyond (2010-2012) will be funded by the National Institute for Health Research Public Health Research programme.The aim of the research is to address the following primary research question: is investment in new high-quality transport infrastructure associated with an increase in the use of active modes of travel (walking and cycling)? A quasi-experimental cohort study of adults who travel to work in Cambridge is being conducted, combined with nested in-depth quantitative and qualitative studies.
I am currently carrying out spatial analyses in GIS software using data collected from participants of the study with other land use, transportation and environmental datasets. I am particularly interested in the influence of accessibility of location on modal choice and active travel.
Biography
I completed a PhD at the University of the West of England (UWE), Bristol, in 2009 in the field of sustainable urban form and development. I used a combination of spatial analysis and a questionnaire survey of local businesses to evaluate the sustainability of office locations in the Bristol city-region. The research was funded by the Regional Development Agency, UWE and a private GIS consultancy, Geofutures Ltd, as part of the Great Western Research initative.Prior to starting at UEA in late 2010, and throughout my PhD, I worked as a researcher and consultant for UWE, Geofutures and the University of Reading. Projects included an evaluation of planning legislation for the Welsh Assembly Government; an in-depth study of the student experience on distance learning programmes for the Centre for Education in the Built Environment (CEBE); mapping sustainability indicators for the Institute of Sustainability, Health and Envrionment (iSHE) at UWE; and the development of a costing model for care homes and residential schools for Improvement and Efficiency South East (IESE). At Geofutures, I carried out GIS-based research and data gathering for projects including, identifying potential locations for new residential developments, food self-sufficiency and visualising resident satisfaction in their local area.
Before starting the PhD in 2006, I worked as a consultant for Halcrow Group Ltd for five years, where I led flood defence mapping projects for the Environment Agency in the Thames Region. During this time, I studied for an MSc in Geographical Information Science at Birkbeck College, University of London. I originally developed my curiousity for understanding the complex interactions between society and the environment during my undergraduate geography degree at the University of Reading.