Established in 1824, the history of The University of Manchester is closely entwined with the industrial revolution. England’s first civic university is located in the world’s first industrial city, Manchester. The University’s founders aimed for the university to improve people’s lives through teaching and research. Today, one of the University’s three strategic goals is social responsibility, with a core drive to pursue environmental sustainability. The research feeding into Unintended Consequences is led by Dr. Joanne Tippett, a lecturer in Spatial Planning in the School of Environment, Education and Development (SEED). SEED brings together academics from geography, architecture, planning, education and international development to research and teach about the natural and built environment, looking at humans have changed the world and how we can go about planning and designing human activities and settlements for a more sustainable future.