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Children are particularly vulnerable to the negative effects of air pollution exposure due to their developing lungs and their greater respiratory rate than adults. The school commute presents a period of particular threat because children are exposed to higher levels of air pollution due to increased road traffic. This can lead to a range of health problems, including asthma, respiratory infections, and long-term lung damage. This research fills a gap in the literature by identifying relevant, effective interventions to reduce potential child exposure to harmful pollutants during the school commute, based on comprehensive academic reviews, stakeholder opinion, and dispersion modelling. This thesis aims to investigate interventions to reduce and mitigate potential child exposure to traffic-related air pollution (TRAP) in the vicinity of schools in England and on the school commute. A literature review was combined with the findings of a systematic review to determine suitable reduction and exposure mitigation interventions and to provide an academic basis for constructing a stakeholder survey distributed to English schools. The results of the survey were compiled by teacher and parent respondents. A geographical information system (GIS) was constructed to identify pollution levels at schools in England. Several highly polluted school environments were identified, and these were used as case study areas for dispersion modelling. A set of interventions, popular with the participants in the stakeholder survey and shown to be demonstrably effective by the literature, were applied to the school environments using dispersion modelling to determine their overall effectiveness. The GIS showed that urban environments throughout the UK had the most polluted schools. Schools in England were significantly more polluted than schools in other UK countries. London had a greater number of polluted schools than any other UK region. Dispersion modelling showed the greatest reductions from all selected interventions were found on travel routes rather than by school buildings. At all travel routes, dispersion modelling showed reductions of NO2 concentrations resulting from low emission zones (-15.85%), mode shifts to active travel (-12.97%), improved travel routes (-16.02%), ridesharing (-13.16%), and anti-idling (-8.27%).The investigation outcomes provided the basis for policy recommendations at the national, local authority, and parent/teacher levels. The recommendations centre on reducing TRAP in the vicinity of schools and on the school commute, emphasising improved monitoring, greater communication between stakeholder groups, and immediate action.

The UK's extensive and diverse coastline is on the frontline of climate change and our response is challenging, because the governing system in place to manage coastal space is complex. Coastal governance lacks identity, having evolved in a fragmented manner across the land and sea. To adapt to change and protect people, property and wildlife, better governance and careful stewardship of coastal resources is needed. The aim of this research was to review the powers and duties of existing governing bodies across the land-sea interface, and consider how to strengthen their roles to support collaborative governance and stewardship. The thesis provides unique insights into the socio-legal context for managing the UK coast: the regulatory, policy, planning and institutional framework. This was combined with a Delphi-based method which engaged a large group of experienced professionals and practitioners from across the UK, in an iterative dialogue about the current context and future direction for UK coastal governance. The results were verified through a practitioner workshop, where research participants identified actions to implement the recommendations. A consensus was reached on the need to bring together top-down and bottom-up approaches to governance, encouraging planning and management at a scale that links people's sense of place with the coastal ecosystem. This would be driven by a new national coastal strategy and associated coastal policy, to support institutional collaboration and encourage engagement in decision-making from the local level. Nested coastal plans with democratic accountability would fulfil a governance gap and drive integrated planning across the land-sea interface. The thesis concludes by proposing a collaborative governance framework and route-map for coastal stewardship in the UK. It combines insights from the literature with the consensus found amongst research participants. The government's role as a guardian of the public trust, alongside the rights and duties of public bodies and stakeholders, suggests strengthening existing and new local delivery networks based on coastal socio-ecological system units. Complete coverage and the strengthening of coastal and estuary partnerships could foster delivery through trusteeship and evolve the legal framework towards a guardianship approach. New coastal assemblies are proposed, to encourage investment in collaborative effort, and provide the coast and its communities with a stronger voice in future decision-making.