GREENICON
Overview
Led by Professor Prashant Kumar, the Director of the Global Centre for Clean Air Research (GCARE) & Co-Director, Institute for Sustainability at the University of Surrey, GREENICON brings together researchers from partner universities in the UK, USA, and Brazil. The project pioneers world-leading research into the outdoor–indoor continuum, exploring how urban greening interventions influence indoor environmental quality (IEQ), thermal comfort, and human health.
Vision
People spend nearly 90% of their time indoors, yet the indoor environment is deeply shaped by outdoor conditions such as air pollution, heat, noise, vegetation, and land use. Despite this, outdoor and indoor environments are often studied in isolation, overlooking the critical continuum between them. As cities worldwide expand greening initiatives to combat climate change and improve well-being, robust methods to evaluate how these interventions influence indoor environmental quality (IEQ) remain scarce.
GREENICON envisions a step-change in understanding and managing the outdoor–indoor continuum. By integrating experimental monitoring, advanced machine learning, and interdisciplinary expertise, the project will quantify how greening interventions affect IEQ, thermal comfort, and human health across diverse climates and socio-spatial contexts. This knowledge will generate transferable, data-driven solutions for healthier, more inclusive, and resilient communities.
Through collaborative research, student–staff exchanges, and stakeholder engagement, GREENICON aims to bridge academia, policy, and society. By demonstrating the tangible benefits of outdoor greening on indoor well-being, the project will lay the groundwork for sustainable urban strategies and future large-scale research funding, directly supporting the UN SDGs: (3) Good Health & Well-being; (10) Reduced Inequalities; (11) Sustainable Cities and Communities; and (13) Climate Action.
Objectives
The overall objective of GREENICON is to advance understanding of the outdoor–indoor continuum by developing innovative methods to assess how greening interventions influence indoor environmental quality (IEQ), thermal comfort, and human health. By integrating experimental monitoring, modelling, and advanced machine learning across diverse climates and socio-spatial contexts, the project aims to generate transferable, evidence-based strategies that inform urban greening policies and practices in the UK, USA, and Brazil. Specific objectives (SO) include:
- [SO1] Establish a global multidisciplinary partnership to study greening’s impact on indoor-outdoor environments.
- [SO2] Develop field case studies using advanced machine learning to assess adaptable greening benefits.
- [SO3] Promote knowledge exchange through staff-student collaboration, building a vibrant NBS community.
- [SO4] Leverage findings to produce joint publications and secure international funding for future projects.
Funder
Related sustainable development goals
Team
Lead principal investigator
Professor Prashant Kumar
Director of the Global Centre for Clean Air Research (GCARE) & Co-Director, Institute for Sustainability, School of Sustainability, Civil & Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering & Physical Sciences, University of Surrey
See profile
Professor H. Christopher Frey
Futrell Distinguished University Professor of Environmental Engineering, and Associate Dean for Research and Infrastructure, College of Engineering, NC State University
See profile Professor Fabiana L. Oliveira
Professor at the Department of Architectural Technology, Faculty of Architecture, Urbanism and Design, University of São Paulo, specialising in building performance and timber construction research
See profileCo-principal investigators
Professor Derk-Jan Dijk
Professor of Sleep and Physiology; Director, Surrey Sleep Research Centre
See profile Professor Ferrante Neri
Professor of Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence, Associate Dean (International), FEPS
See profile Dr Erick Sperandio Nascimento
Associate Professor (Reader) in Clean Air and AI, People-Centred AI Institute
See profile Professor Roberta Kronka Mülfarth
Full professor at the Department of Architectural Technology, Faculty of Architecture, Urbanism and Design, University of São Paulo
See profile Professor Marco Aurélio de Menezes Franco
Assistant Professor at the Institute of Astronomy, Geophysics and Atmospheric Sciences
See profile Professor Maria de Fatima Andrade
Full professor at the Department of Atmospheric Sciences, Institute of Astronomy, Geophysics and Atmospheric Sciences
See profile Professor Edmilson Edmilson Dias de Freitas
Full professor at the Department of Atmospheric Sciences, Institute of Astronomy, Geophysics and Atmospheric Sciences
See profile Professor Thiago Nogueira
Professor at the School of Public Health, University of São Paulo
See profile Associate Professor Lorna Wang
Associate Professor at Surrey Business School, Co-Director, Centre for Research on Ageing and Generations
See profile Dr Hao Sun
Research Fellow at Global Centre for Clean Air Research (GCARE)
See profile Dr Akash Biswal
Research Fellow at Global Centre for Clean Air Research (GCARE)
See profile Dr Jeetendra Sahani
Research Fellow at Global Centre for Clean Air Research (GCARE)
See profile Dr Kiran K G Ravindran
Research Fellow in Sleep Physiology and Dementia
See profile Dr Andrew Grieshop
Professor of Environmental Engineering
See profile Dr Aaron Hipp
Professor of Community Health and Sustainability, Centre for Geospatial Analytics, College of Natural Resources
See profile Dr Madhusudan Katti
Associate Professor, Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources
See profile Dr Rajan Parajuli
Associate Professor, Forest Economic and Policy, College of Natural Resources
See profile Dr Celen Pasalar
Associate Professor, Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning, College of Design
See profile Dr Jennifer Richmond-Bryant
Associate Professor, Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources
See profile Dr Traci Rider
Associate Professor of Architecture, Director of Graduate Program in Architecture
See profileCo-investigators
Soheila Khalili
Post Graduate Researcher at Global Centre for Clean Air Research (GCARE)
Dr Wickson Cheung
Post Graduate Researcher at Global Centre for Clean Air Research (GCARE)
Elton Belarmino de Sousa
Post Graduate Researcher at Faculty of Architecture, Urbanism and Design, University of São Paulo