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UCL SDG Research Accelerator

The UCL SDG Research Accelerator was established in 2022 to undertake challenge-driven and transdisciplinary research in order to advance the understanding and implementation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), through a science-to-policy-and-back lens.

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are an urgent call for action by all countries - developed and developing - in a global partnership. The UCL SDG Research Accelerator is a research-led, transdisciplinary initiative that aims to align climate (SDG13), health (SDG3) and urban (SDG11) goals in partnership with relevant stakeholders in society (SDG17) and in synergy with the other SDGs. The Accelerator is defined by cutting-edge built environment research that is informed by scientific, policy and industry knowledge and responds to current societal challenges. It undertakes three types of activities:

  • Primary RESEARCH – which is transdisciplinary and challenge-driven. 
  • Policy IMPACT – by providing scientific evidence within local, national and international policymaking processes.
  • Public DIALOGUES – that supports knowledge transfer and exchanges outside the academia. 

Find out more below and get involved! 

UCL SDG Research Accelerator NEW

Be the accelerator

Are you a UCL researcher working on SDG3 (health), SDG11 (urban), SDG13 (climate) and/or SDG17 (partnerships) goals or targets? Would you like to engage with the Accelerator? Tell us about your research here. 

If you're a researcher outside of UCL and would like to get in touch with us, please contact catalina.turcu@ucl.ac.uk.

Contact us

Professor Catalina Turcu
Founder & Director of the SDG Research Accelerator, Professor of Sustainable Built Environment 
catalina.turcu@ucl.ac.uk

Affiliated Faculty

Adriana Allen
Professor of Development Planning and Urban sustainability, UCL

Berit Brokking Balfors
Professor, KTH

Sarah Chaytor
Director of Research Strategy and Policy, UCL

Mike Davies
Professor of Building Physics and the Environment, UCL

Francesco Nerini Fuso
Associate Professor of Energy Systems, KTH

Iqbal Hamiduddin
Associate Professor in Transport Planning and Housing, UCL

Nikolaos Karadimitriou
Associate Professor, UCL

Tara Keck
Professor of Neurosciences, UCL

Laura Vaughan
Professor of Urban Form and Society, UCL

Researchers

Yirong Jia

Siti Omar

Martina Rotolo

Fernanda Sobreiro

Visiting Scholars

Henrik Ottosson
Uppsala University

Johan Nordensvard
KTH Royal Institute of Technology

Ylva Noren Bretzer
Gothenborg University

SDG Accelerator News 


Prof. Catalina Turcu participates at the 60th UNFCCC session of the Subsidiary Bodies
Prof. Catalina Turcu was part of a small, dedicated team of experts that represented UCL at the 60th Sessions of the UNFCCC Subsidiary Bodies (SB60) which took place in Bonn at 3-13 June.  

Professor Turcu engaged with negotiators and participated in discussions on cities, adaptation, and research and systematic observation, contributing to UCL’s commitment to impactful international climate action and knowledge advancement. Read more on the UCL Grand Challenges website and on the UCL Public Policy website. 

Prof. Catalina Turcu gives presentation at the launch of UCL Urban Health Community 
Professor Catalina Turcu delivered a talk at the recent launch of the Urban Health Community. This is an initiative of UCL Health of the Public, which brings together researchers from across UCL whose work focuses on understanding the impacts of the urban environment on human health, and how best to reduce health inequalities in urban areas.  

Professor Turcu used the UCL SDG Research Accelerator’s work to provide examples on how urban health justice could be achieved in the current urban conditions; what is the role of urban health experts in the current urban-political landscapes; and highlighted climate change and mental health as the two crucial urban health challenges that should be at the centre of research and policy communities’ attention. 

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