The past, as Sophie Handler suggests in her reportage of life in an East London borough, need not be a distant memory. Her book, The Fluid Pavement, is a journey through Newham investigating the spatiality of ageing, from Plaistow to Canning Town. Sophie Handler explores the physical and emotional experiences of ageing, in relation to public space. Based on interviews, the book documents details of daily life in a part of East London where demographics, community structures and aspirations are changing rapidly.

"The Bursary," says Sophie, "has been an invaluable source of support, allowing me to develop projects addressing older people's marginalised experience of urban space, and providing me with the necessary time and moral support to test out different ideas and modes of design practice. This funding has been vital in shaping my subsequent research/design work, developing 'Age-Friendly' urban policy in cities across the UK."