Placements 2017/2018 - Ian Pattison

Spatial mapping of natural capital investments and beneficiaries. 

Home: School of Architecture, Building and Civil Engineering, Loughborough University

Host: Natural Capital Programme, Environment Agency

Project Summary

Catchments are complex entities both in terms of the physical processes but also are the spatial unit for considerable investment, from land use subsidies, flood risk, water company, fisheries improvement funds, local authority and Local Enterprise Partnership funds.

It is not not always clear who the beneficiaries may be – in and out of the catchment, locally or nationally. Furthermore, there is a spatial disconnection between investment (often upstream) and benefit (downstream). This placement aims to improve decision making and attract more funding by spatially mapping investments and beneficiaries, and comparing this with where investment is needed and interested contributors. 

The placement will develop and apply novel mapping methods to current natural capital catchments trials and take this work from research to application quickly.