Clive Sabel

Academic profile

Professor Clive Sabel

Professor of Big Data and Spatial Science
School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences (Faculty of Science and Engineering)

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The Global Goals

In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. Clive's work contributes towards the following SDG(s):

Goal 03: SDG 3 - Good Health and Well-beingGoal 10: SDG 10 - Reduced InequalitiesGoal 11: SDG 11 - Sustainable Cities and CommunitiesGoal 13: SDG 13 - Climate Action

About Clive

We live in an increasingly urbanised world facing major environmental challenges, including climate change, noise, air and water pollution, and unequal access to healthy environments. My research focuses on the geographies of health and wellbeing and asks an important question: how do places, environments, and daily movements shape human health, and how can healthier living environments support population level health? 

My work bridges health and urban geography through a spatial data science framework. I use innovative (big) data sources, including individual mobility data, either mobile phone or app sourced, and personal sensors  supported by street view images, to understand how everyday environments shape health, well-being, and inequalities. 

A key concept in my work is that people are not only exposed to their residential neighbourhood: rather they have daily activity spaces. They travel to work or school, visit friends and family, use parks and streets, and move through many different environments during the day. These daily movements shape what people see, breathe, hear, and experience. Through my research, teaching, and collaborations, I envision healthier, fairer, and more sustainable cities.

My research focuses on four closely connected themes:

  • Geographies of health: how places and environmental exposure impact human health.
  • Daily mobility and health: how the environments people encounter during everyday movements affect health and well-being.
  • Healthy and sustainable cities: how urban design can support walking, cycling, and green space use to improve well-being.
  • Spatial data science and AI: how new data sources, including street-view images and mobility data, can help us understand environmental exposures at scale.

Contact Clive

B527 Portland Square, Drake Circus, Plymouth, PL4 8AA
+44 1752 584712