Staff Profiles

Teaching Urban Design and Planning at MA, Undergraduate and Foundation levels: Place Making design studio, Research Methods, Healthy Placemaking, Theory and Practice of Play.

Supervision

Supervising Spatial Planning and Urban Design MA Dissertations.

Previously I was a Research Fellow on the ESRC funded Healthy Urban Mobility (HUM) research project (www.hum-mus.org). This three year project was led by Oxford Brookes in collaboration with three Brazilian Universities. It used innovative interdisciplinary mixed-methods research to understand the relationship between urban environments, mobility, health and wellbeing.

Prior to the HUM project I worked as a researcher on cycle BOOM, an EPSRC funded project (www.cycleboom.org). This was part of the Lifelong Health and Well Being - Design for wellbeing: ageing and mobility in the built environment programme. The project was led by Oxford Brookes in collaboration with Cardiff University, Reading University and the University of the West of England. Innovative interdisciplinary mixed-methods research explored the health and wellbeing benefits of cycling for older people.

From October 2009 – September 2013 I completed my PhD: Playful public places for later life at the University of the West of England, Bristol. I used mixed qualitative methods to understand which qualities of public open spaces facilitate playful behaviour by older people. During this time I also completed an MA in Applied Social Research.

Research group membership

Brookes Research Innovation and Knowledge Exchange Network on Healthy Ageing and Care

School of the Built Environment - Planning Policy and Governance research group

School of the Built Environment - Design and Development research group

Research grants and awards

cycle BOOM project winner of the RTPI award for research excellence 2017

British Society of Gerontology ‘Interview a Professor’ award with Prof Sheila Peace, BSG President | 2015

Bursary to attend Sharing Futures Summer School, Birmingham University | 2015

RTPI Urban Design student of the year award for the South West | 2009

Research projects

Healthy Urban Mobility

cycle BOOM

PEST

 

Research impact

Co-organised the Healthy Ageing Month month of free online lunchtime seminars, workshops and discussions Healthy Ageing - Visions for our Futures 2020 November 2020.

Co-organised the Like Riding a Bike conference on 7th Sept 2019 with Cyclox.

Organised and led the British Society for Gerontology seminar Design for Wellbeing: Innovative research methods for understanding older people’s everyday mobility, April 2015.

Organised and led the British Society for Gerontology Special Interest Group on Research on Transport and Mobility seminar Later life mobility: From home to neighbourhood and community, April 2017 at Oxford Brookes.

Worked with cycle BOOM colleagues and Film Oxford to create four films summarising and illustrating our key findings and with 12 participants to create short documentary films about the wellbeing benefits they experinced from cycling.

Devised and delivered school-based a Key Stage 3 Design and Technology project on transport futures.

Experienced in using blogs and social media to disseminate research activity to a wider audience.

Further information

www.hum-mus.org

www.cycleboom.org

pest-project.org

Journal articles

• Jones T, Spencer B, Beale N, Leyland LA, van Reekum C , '“You can go out 14 miles away with the knowledge that you’ve got the battery to help you back if you need it!” Narratives of ranging behaviour and wellbeing in diaries of e-bike trial participants.'
  Active Travel Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal 2 (2) (2022) pp.1-28
  ISSN: 2732-4184 eISSN: 2732-4184
  Abstract

  This paper draws on data from a large UK study that aimed to understand cycling among the older population and how this affected independence, health and wellbeing. Part of the study involved an ‘e-bike trial’ where participants aged 50 and over, who were returning to cycling after a hiatus, were loaned an e-bike for an eight-week trial period. Pre-trial and post-trial cognitive tests of trial participants, reported previously Leyland et al. (2019), demonstrated how e-bikes, provide positive benefits to cognitive function and wellbeing. The paper builds on these findings, drawing specifically on the qualitative component, predominantly biographical interviews, written and visual material provided in rider diaries and a focus group discussion, to understand the reasons for this positive impact.

  The findings demonstrate how power assistance can provide riders with the opportunity to extend the distance and types of area they are willing to cycle from their homes (their ‘ranging behaviour’) and how this can promote health and wellbeing. Our evidence suggests that e-bikes have the potential to support cycling for leisure as well as everyday travel and that consideration should be given to the positive effects of e-cycling on mental wellbeing in addition to physical activity. This is particularly pertinent in the context of an ageing society, the push towards zero-emission cities and the need to ensure socially inclusive mobility, particularly in the context of the Covid-19 global pandemic.

  Website 
• Carpenter J, Horvath C, Spencer B, 'Co-Creation as an agonistic practice in the favela of Santa Marta, Rio de Janeiro'
  Urban Studies 58 (9) (2020) pp.1906-1923
  ISSN: 0042-0980 eISSN: 1360-063X
  Abstract

  This paper explores the potential of ‘Co-Creation’ to develop new understandings of neighbourhood disadvantage in collaboration with civil society partners. It argues that there is a growing need for collaborative knowledge production with communities carrying vernacular knowledges previously invalidated by dominant epistemologies. The first part of the paper undertakes a reconceptualization of ‘co-creation’, a term usually associated with citizen involvement in neoliberal contexts, redeveloping it as a ‘critical artistic practice’ (Chantal Mouffe, 2013) in which new ways of imagining the city can be articulated. The second part of the paper examines the practice of Co-Creation as a participatory methodology involving artists, researchers and stakeholders in developing ‘agonistic spaces’ by scrutinizing a five-day workshop conducted in the Rio de Janeiro favela of Santa Marta to explore multiple understandings and meanings of this neighbourhood. Through an analysis of creative workshop activities such as photovoice and mapping exercises, the authors explore the potential of the Co-Creation approach to construct new subjectivities that can help subvert existing configurations of power. The conclusion formulates some recommendations about future strategies to maximise Co-Creation’s potential to engage communities in collaborative knowledge production about their neighbourhoods and bring about positive change. 
  

  Website 
• Leyland L, Spencer B, Beale N, Jones T, van Reekum CM, 'The effect of cycling on cognitive function and well-being in older adults'
  PLoS ONE 14 (2) (2019)
  ISSN: 1932-6203
  Abstract

  It has been demonstrated that, on their own, both exercise and stimulation from the environment can improve cognitive function and well-being in older adults. The combined effect of exercising in the outdoor environment on psychological function is less well studied. The aim of the current study was to investigate the effect of an outdoor cycling intervention on cognitive function and mental health and well-being in older adults. A total of 100 older adults took part in the study (aged 50–83), 26 of which were non-cycling controls, 36 were conventional pedal cyclists and 38 were participants using an e-bike (a bike fitted with an electric motor to provide assistance with pedaling), as part of a larger project (www.cycleboom.org). Participants took part in the study for an eight-week period, with cycling participants required to cycle at least three times a week for thirty minutes in duration for each cycle ride. Cognitive function and well-being were measured before and after the intervention period. For executive function, namely inhibition (the Stroop task) and updating (Letter Updating Task), both cycling groups improved in accuracy after the intervention compared to non-cycling control participants. E-bike participants also improved in processing speed (reaction times in go trials of the Stop-It task) after the intervention compared to non-cycling control participants. Finally, e-bike participants improved in their mental health score after the intervention compared to non-cycling controls as measured by the SF-36. This suggests that there may be an impact of exercising in the environment on executive function and mental health. Importantly, we showed a similar (sometimes larger) effect for the e-bike group compared to the pedal cyclists. This suggests that it is not just the physical activity component of cycling that is having an influence. Both pedal cycles and e-bikes can enable increased physical activity and engagement with the outdoor environment with e-bikes potentially providing greater benefits.
  

  Website 
• Spencer B, Jones T, Leyland L, van Reekum C, Beale N, '"Instead of 'closing down' at our ages… we’re thinking of exciting and challenging things to do": Older people’s microadventures outdoors on (e-)bikes'
  Journal of Adventure Education and Outdoor Learning 19 (2) (2019) pp.124-139
  ISSN: 1472-9679 eISSN: 1754-0402
  Abstract

  This paper explores how people aged 50 and over, who were returning to cycling as part of an eight-week health and wellbeing trial, created their own cycling microadventures. Applying a stage model of the process of adventure to qualitative data generated from personal diaries and focus groups, we examine how older people anticipated and prepared for their microadventures, the challenges and discoveries they experienced, the benefits they gained and how electrically assisted ‘e-bikes’ can provide further opportunities for adventure. We conclude that cycles are a mode uniquely placed to facilitate microadventures and that e-bikes, in particular, offer further potential to enable older people to (re-) connect with place and other people. But, while this type of activity can provide benefits in terms of health and wellbeing, we argue that more supportive physical and social infrastructure is required to provide opportunities for more people to undertake microadventures close to their homes.
  

  Website 
• Pooley CG, Jones T, Chatterjee K, Spencer B, Jones H, 'Family formation and everyday travel in Britain since c1850'
  The History of the Family 23 (2) (2018) pp.290-306
  ISSN: 1081-602X
  Abstract This paper focuses on the extent to which everyday travel behaviour in Britain changes in relation to family responsibilities, and examines how this has altered over the past century and a half. It is argued that prior to the mid-twentieth century changes in the family such as increased child care responsibilities barely influenced the modes of transport used for everyday travel, but that increasingly in the later twentieth century people have adjusted their travel behaviour during the family formation phases of their life. In particular parents of young children have become more car-dependent and less likely to walk or cycle. Data are drawn from two separate projects, one that collected travel life histories from the past half century as context for research on cycling in later life, and one that uses personal diaries to reveal everyday mobility strategies of people in the nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries. We argue that the observed changes are due not only to increased access to a wide range of different transport forms, especially the motor car, but also to changes in societal perceptions of risk and norms of travel behaviour. In conclusion, it is suggested that more awareness of past travel behaviours could aid the development and implementation of more sustainable transport policies in the UK. Website 

Book chapters

• Jones T, Spencer B, 'City Cycling Spaces for Welcoming and Engaging All Ages' in Kaplan, M Thang, L L Sánchez, M Hoffman, J (ed.), Intergenerational Contact Zones Place-based Strategies for Promoting Social Inclusion and Belonging, Routledge (2020)
  ISBN: 9780367189020 eISBN: 9780429199097
  Abstract

  This chapter reviews ways in which cycling spaces can be designed to provide family oriented, community-building, social and physical activity as well as an additional mode of transportation. It argues that, for these designs to be realized, there first needs to be understanding and agreement among decision makers and stakeholders that city space is more than just mobility space and that a more sophisticated approach is needed to think about how current mobility space is utilized. This includes considering how such spaces could better function to promote generational inclusion and social belonging.
  

  Website 
• Jones T, Chatterjee K, Spencer B, Jones H, 'Cycling beyond your sixties: The role of cycling in later life and how it can be supported and promoted' in Musselwhite, C. (ed.), Transport, travel and later life, Emerald (2017)
  ISBN: 978-1-78714-624-2 eISBN: 978-1-78714-623-5
  Website 
• Jones T, Spencer B, 'Can Urban Streets and Spaces be Intergenerational Cycling Zones' in Kaplan M, Thang LL, Sanchez M, Hoffman J (ed.), Intergenerational Contact Zones - A Compendium of Applications, University Park, PA: Penn State Extension (2016)
  Abstract There is a general consensus among European Ministers that cycling should be promoted as healthy and sustainable mobility (Presidency of the Council of the European Union, 2015). The major trend over the last half-century across many countries in Europe, however, has been towards a decline in cycling for everyday local transport.
   
  We describe how the concept of Intergenerational Cycling Zones could help engage younger and older generations to work together to develop more civilized, harmonious and inclusive cycling environments that enable cyclists of all ages and abilities to use bicycles with ease and to interact with each other positively. Finally we discuss potential facets of Intergenerational Cycling Zones and the challenges to their acceptance within the UK context.
  Website 
• Mahjoubi, L. and Spencer, B., 'Healthy play for all ages in public open spaces' in The Routledge Handbook of Planning for Health and Well-Being, Routledge (2015)
  ISBN: 978-1-13-802330-7
  
• Spencer, B.; Williams, K.; Mahdjoubi, L.; Sara, R., 'Third Places for the Third Age: The contribution of playable space to the Well-being of older people' in Landscape, Well-being and the environment, Routledge (2013)
  ISBN: 978-0-415-82998-4
  

Reviews

• Spencer B, review of Urban environments for healthy ageing – a global perspective, in Urban Research and Practice 13 (2) (2020) pp.240-241ISSN: 1753-5069 eISSN: 1753-5077
  Website 

Other publications

• Jones T, Chatterjee K, Spinney J, Street E, Van Reekum C, Spencer B, Jones H, Leyland LA, Mann C, Williams S, Beale N, 'cycle BOOM : Design for Lifelong Health and Wellbeing : Summary of Key Findings and Recommendations'
  (2016) Abstract https://www.cycleboom.org/summary-report/Website 
• Spencer B, 'Delightful cycling for all? The potential of enhanced sensory experience to encourage cycling'
  (2016) Abstract Ben will explore how urban design affects the kinaesthetic, tactile and visual experience of older riders when navigating the city of Oxford. US scholars Forsyth and Krizek suggest that urban design needs to take the sensory experience of cycling more seriously in order to forge cycling-orientated urban design practice that makes cycling ‘delightful’. The talk will provide a summary of the implications for designing cities for cycling that are not only safer and more inclusive, but that provide a ‘delightful’ sensory experience. This work is part of a UK Research Council funded project called ‘cycle BOOM’ which seeks to understand cycling among the older population and how this affects independence, health and well-being and to provide recommendations for design of the built environment.
• Spencer, B., 'Understanding cycling in later life and the health and wellbeing benefits of velomobilitly in age-friendly communities'
  (2015)
• Spencer, B., 'Reflections on cycling experience in later life: diaries and discussions'
  (2015)
• Spencer, B., 'Playable Public Spaces for Later Life'
  (2014)
• Spencer, B., 'Playful public places for later life: How can neighbourhood public open space provide opportunities for improving older people’s quality of life by enabling play?'
  (2013)

Areas of expertise

Urban Design

Active travel / sustainable mobility

Gerontology

Play

Community development

Health and wellbeing

Healthy placemaking

 

Membership of professional bodies

The British Society of Gerontology - founder and co-ordinator of the Special Interest Group for Transport and Mobility

The Academy of Urbanism

Conferences

The potential of E-bikes for healthy ageing | E-bike summit 2020 | November 2020 | Online

How can cycling combat loneliness? | Let’s talk about loneliness conference | October 2019 | Kings Centre, Oxford, UK.

Cycling beyond your sixties: Older people's experience of cycling in UK cities and impacts on health and wellbeing | Older Road User Conference | Sept 2019 | RAC, London, UK.

Older people’s cycling:(E)-bikes, brain power and microadventures | UCL Cycling at teatime series | May 2019 | UCL, London, UK.

Older people on E-bikes: Brain power and microadventures | London Bike Show | March 2019 | ExCel, London, UK.

Cycling on the margins: suburban cycling in Oxford | Cycle City 2018 | June 2018 | Manchester University, Manchester, UK.

Two ‘lenses’ on ageing and inclusive design | Ageing and the City: The Challenge of Inclusive Design - Getting it Right for All Ages (and Why this Matters) | Centre For Research In The Arts, Social Sciences And Humanities (CRASSH) Cambridge University | Cambridge, UK.

Understanding transport and mobility inequalities in Oxford | Transport & Health 2018 | March 2018 | Portsmouth, UK.

cycle BOOM - Bridging the gap between research and practice? | Cyclenation | November 2017 | Oxford, UK.

Learning the lessons of resilient older cyclists | Mobility, Mood and Place conference | October 2016 | Edinburgh University, Edinburgh, UK.

Delightful cycling for all? The potential of enhanced sensory experience to encourage cycling | ARCC Feeling good in public spaces dialogue series: Visual spectacle and tactile texture of urban places | Feb 2016 | LDA Design, London, UK.

Understanding cycling in later life and the health and wellbeing benefits of velo-mobilitly in age-friendly communities | British Society for Gerontology Annual Conference | July 2015 | Newcastle, UK.

Reflections on cycling experience in later life: diaries and discussions | British Society for Gerontology Annual Conference | July 2015 | Newcastle, UK.

cycle BOOM so far | UK-Ireland Planning Research Conference | September 2014 | Oxford, UK.

Playable Public Spaces for Later Life | Making the City Playable Conference | September 2014 | Bristol, UK.

The cycle BOOM Project | Eco2Mobility: Mobility and Social Inclusion workshop | March 2014 | Provinciehuis of the Province of East-Flanders | Ghent, Belgium.

Convenor and chair of symposium: Researching Design for Wellbeing: Ageing and mobility in the built environment and presenting Maintaining Momentum - ageing and cycling in Oxford | British Society of Gerontology conference | July 2016 | Stirling, UK.

Other experience

From 2008–9 I was a Senior Urban Designer for RPS Planning and Development. I worked on master planning, site appraisal and design guidance projects for residential schemes across the UK for local authority and private clients. These projects included the research and preparation of Design Codes for a large housing site, a Development Framework for a former airfield and an Urban Design Strategy for a Lincolnshire town.

I was Head of Education at the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) from 2002-6. Here I established CABE’s national education programme including the award winning 360˚ magazine. I worked with a charitable board of CABE commissioners, CABE staff and external partners (including Oxford Brookes University, Architecture Centre Network and the Geographical Association) to develop a suite of teaching materials to enable teachers to deliver the national curriculum using the resource of their local built environment. These were based on research I comissioned from MORI into the educational requirements of secondary school teachers in England.

I am actively involved in the community life of my home town of Stroud in Gloucestershire having been a Town Councillor from 2011-2015: Deputy Chair (Planning) Consultations Committee and a Working Group Leader for the Neighbourhood Plan (now adopted by the District Council). I also initiated the Stroud Apple Town project which grew into Edible Stroud and helped to crowdsource and set up a community woodland.