HASP: Improving measures of perceived access to local amenities

One full PhD scholarship is available in the School of Geography. The successful applicant will be part of a cohort of four PhDs connected by the Healthy and Sustainable Places Data Service. This scholarship is open to UK and international applicants and covers fees plus maintenance and a research support fund.<br /> <br /> This fully funded PhD place provides an exciting opportunity to pursue postgraduate research in urban accessibility analysis, drawing in fields including urban analytics, mobility, and spatial cognition.<br /> <br /> This PhD project will form part of the research programme within the Healthy and Sustainable Places (HASP) Smart Data Service, and therefore take place at the heart of discussions around the use of behavioural data for mobility research.<br />

<p style="margin-bottom:11px">Improving access to local amenities by active travel is an important phase in enhancing the sustainability of urban mobility. By enhancing the presence of and connectivity to essential amenities it is possible to reduce the necessity of car-based travel, and enhance opportunities for active travel, which in turn have benefits to health. This concept is the basis of considerable national government investment in active travel infrastructure, and a focus of many local government initiatives.</p> <p>Yet accessibility measures are still relatively crude. For example, where measuring access to public transportation, Department for Transport use estimates based on proximity to a service stop based on Euclidean distance. We know that access, or perception of access, is much more complex than can be captured simple Euclidean distance. Recent developments in this area have focused on the implementation of the 15-minute city concept and enhancing measures of distance and its heterogeneous experience [1] as well as demographic variation in impact [2] in provision. There remain opportunities to expand these approaches to better consider how neighbourhood amenities and distances are perceived by citizens.</p> <p>Perception in relation to access can be considered in two ways. First, perception is shaped by an individual’s cognitive conception of space, relating to how people recall distances to amenities as shaped by factors such as spatial configuration and urban form [3], as well as someone’s prior experience and mobility restrictions. There remains limited evidence on how cognitive distance limits perception of access, and in turn influences mobility choices.</p> <p>Second, perception of access to amenities may be shaped by the quality and relevance of those amenities to the individual. Matching relevant amenities at an appropriate quality is important for ensuring neighbourhoods properly cater for the local population. This mix may be spatially variable according to the population.  For example, one may not wish to include schools in a measure of neighbourhood quality if there are no families in the area, the focus may better lie elsewhere. But understanding how heterogeneity in the perception of amenities remains an open question.</p> <p>This PhD project will consider ways in which to enhance the integration of neighbourhood perception into spatial accessibility models. The exact direction of the research will be further developed during the first year, but is likely to include elements of data collection and spatial modelling.</p> <p><strong>References</strong></p> <p>[1] Willberg, E., Fink, C. and Toivonen, T., 2023. The 15-minute city for all?–Measuring individual and temporal variations in walking accessibility. <em>Journal of Transport Geography, 106</em>, p.103521. </p> <p>[2] Calafiore, A., Dunning, R., Nurse, A. and Singleton, A., 2022. The 20-minute city: An equity analysis of Liverpool City Region. <em>Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, 102</em>, p.103111. </p> <p>[3] Manley, E., Filomena, G. and Mavros, P., 2021. A spatial model of cognitive distance in cities. <em>International Journal of Geographical Information Science</em>, 35(11), pp.2316-2338.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Information about the Award</strong></p> <ul> <li>We are offering 1 full-time/part-time PhD scholarship in the School of Geography for one UK or international candidate, covering a matching UKRI maintenance stipend (£19,237 in 2024/25)  and tuition fees for 3.5 years, subject to satisfactory progress. Please note that international applicants must study on a full-time basis.</li> </ul> <p><strong>Duration of the Award</strong></p> <ul> <li>Full-time (3.5 years). The award will be made for one year in the first instance and renewable for a further period of up to 2.5 years, subject to satisfactory academic progress.</li> </ul> <p><strong>Other Conditions</strong></p> <ul> <li>Applicants must not have already been awarded or be currently studying for a doctoral degree.</li> <li>Awards must be taken up by 1st October 2025.</li> <li>Applicants must live within a reasonable distance of the University of Leeds whilst in receipt of this scholarship.</li> </ul> <ul> </ul>

<p style="margin-bottom:11px">To apply for this project you will need to make a formal application for research degree study through the <a href="https://www.leeds.ac.uk/research-applying/doc/applying-research-degrees">University's website</a>. You will need to create a login ID with a username and PIN.</p> <ul> <li>For ‘Application type’ please select ‘Research Degrees – Research Postgraduate’.</li> <li>The admission year for this project is 2025/2026 Academic Year.</li> <li>You will need to select your ‘Planned Course of Study’ from a drop-down menu. For this project, scroll down and select ‘PhD Geography Full-time’.</li> <li>The project start date for this project is 1st October 2025, please use this as your Proposed Start Date of Research.</li> <li><strong>Please state clearly in the research information section that the research degree you wish to be considered for is ‘HASP: Improving measures of perceived access to local amenities’ as well as Professor Ed Manley as your proposed supervisor.</strong></li> </ul> <p>You will be required to provide a personal statement which outlines your interest in the project you are applying for, why you have chosen it and how your skills map onto the requirements of the project. You will also need to provide the following documents:</p> <ul> <li>certificates and transcripts of any academic qualifications</li> <li>English language qualification certificates, if applicable</li> <li>a copy of your CV</li> <li>visa and immigration documents, if applicable</li> </ul> <p>More information on how to apply is available on our website <a href="https://www.leeds.ac.uk/research-applying/doc/applying-research-degrees" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">here</a>.</p> <p>If English is not your first language, you must provide evidence that you meet the University's minimum English language requirements (below).</p> <p>As an international research-intensive university, we welcome students from all walks of life and from across the world. We foster an inclusive environment where all can flourish and prosper, and we are proud of our strong commitment to student education. Across all Faculties we are dedicated to diversifying our community and we welcome the unique contributions that individuals can bring, and particularly encourage applications from, but not limited to Black, Asian, people who belong to a minority ethnic community, people who identify as LGBT+ and people with disabilities. Applicants will always be selected based on merit and ability.</p>

The minimum entry requirements for PhD study is 2.1 honours degree, or equivalent, in geography or a related subject however a lower undergraduate degree can be supplemented by a relevant Masters degree.<br /> <br /> A first class honours degree (or equivalent) is usually required to be competitive for scholarship funding and a Masters degree is also a valuable asset.<br /> <br /> Applicants who are uncertain about the requirements for a particular research degree are advised to contact the School or PGR Admissions Team prior to making an application.<br />

The minimum English language entry requirement for postgraduate research study in the School of Geography is an IELTS of 6.0 overall with at least 5.5 in each component (reading, writing, listening and speaking) or equivalent. The test must be dated within two years of the start date of the course in order to be valid. <br />

<p class="MsoNoSpacing">We are offering a fully funded scholarship to study the project ‘Improving measures of perceived access to local amenities’, at the School of Geography, University of Leeds for one UK or international status candidate. The funding covers tuition fees as well as a UKRI matched maintenance stipend (currently £20,780 in 2025/26) per year, for 3.5 years, subject to satisfactory progress.</p>

<p>For further information please contact Professor Ed Manley (<a href="mailto:e.j.manley@leeds.ac.uk" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">e.j.manley@leeds.ac.uk</a>) or the Postgraduate Research Admissions Team (<a href="mailto:env-pgr@leeds.ac.uk">env-pgr@leeds.ac.uk</a>).   </p>