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People living in the Global North spend most of their time indoors in the built environment, especially their homes. Indoor air pollution has therefore become a major health concern, particularly in urban environments. Both exposure to poor-quality indoor environments, as well as vulnerability to adverse effects on health and well-being, have a unique geography, varying socially, spatially and temporally.

Fuel poverty has been on the rise in England over the past decade. Our recent study reveals that despite being one of the key tools to combat fuel poverty, the Energy Company Obligation (ECO) isn’t reaching the people who need it most. This situation makes even more critical a pending government decision on how to pay for the programme – whether, after a ‘temporary’ respite since March 2022, funding will again be through household energy bills. If this occurs, some of the people hit hardest by fuel poverty will again be contributing to the costs of a programme that doesn’t serve them well.

Mapping Ambient Vulnerabilities uses Critical Spatial Data Science methods and approaches to develop new spatial data and indicators. Critical Spatial Data Science (or Geographic Data Science) analyses quantitative data with some form of spatial identifier – for example, a coordinate, a street name, or a census block – to generate new knowledge. When analysing spatial data, a critical analysis is typically underpinned by theories that help us to understand, and therefore to best represent complex real-world processes.

With UK households facing a dire energy crisis, there has been no shortage of advice from politicians, experts and journalists about how to save energy. Not all of this advice has been good. Some advice, like that provided by Money Saving Expert Martin Lewis and the Energy Savings Trust, can be useful or even obvious. Switching off appliances on standby and draught-proofing your house are two examples. But telling people to rely on tips like drying your hair at the office or burning books for warmth can be unrealistic, absurd or downright dangerous.