Urban Habitats Privacy Notice

This privacy notice explains how Urban Habitats collects, uses, and manages personal data.  We also hold other data that is not personal data, this notice relates only to personal data within the scope of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Our contact details

To contact us regarding data protection or privacy please in the first instance email inbox@urban-habitats.com.

What type of information we have and why we have it

Depending on the reason we are in contact with you we hold different types of information for a different range of reasons.  Under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the lawful bases we rely on for processing this information are also listed below.

Urban Habitats is both an urban design practice and we also undertake our own research projects into links between health and the environment.

We will always tell you about the information we wish to collect from you and how we will use it.

We do not use your personal data for automated decision making about you or for profiling purposes.

Contact type	Reason	Types of personal data	Lawful basis
Customers / clients:	If you have contracted us to work with you we need to retain certain information to perform our role.	Your name and contact details.	(b) We have a contractual obligation. (f) We have a legitimate interest.
Other project stakeholders:	You might be involved in a project with us as a stakeholder or end user.	Your name and contact details.	(a) Your consent. (f) We have a legitimate interest.
Other contacts:	You have been in touch	Your name and contact details.	(a) Your consent. (f) We have a legitimate interest.
Project participant:	You are a member of the public been involved as a participant in our project or event.	This varies from project to project and we will produce a separate privacy notice specific to each project.   May include special category data: e.g. related to your health.   You should also read this privacy notice in conjunction with 1) Participant Information Sheet and 2) Consent Form.	(a) Your consent. (f) We have a legitimate interest including for archiving purposes in the public interest and for scientific or historical research purposes.

How we get the information

Most of the personal information we process is provided to us directly by you for the reasons (lawful basis) in the table above.

What we do with the information we have

How we use personal data varies depending on why we hold it.  We use the information that you have given us in order to:

Contact type	How we use personal data
Customers / clients:	To administer our business relationship with you including accounts. To fulfil our contractual obligations. To provide you with information you have requested. To update you on our project, work, or research findings.
Other project stakeholders:	To fulfil our obligations where we are required to work with you although you do not have a contract directly with us. To provide you with information you have requested. To update you on our project, work, or research findings.
Other contacts:	To provide you with information you have requested. To update you on our project, work, or research findings.
Project / research participant:	To undertake the research / project work described in the Participant Information Sheet. To undertake research analysis for the purposes described in the Participant Information Sheet. For the purposes of dissemination of research and / or project findings (in most cases this will be anonymised however some projects use personally identifiable data such as voice or video recordings, where used these will be identified in the Participant Information Sheet and consent form).

How we store and share your information and for how long

Your information is securely stored a secure cloud based storage system accessed through password protected laptops and mobile devices.

Like many organisations our files are stored online using a cloud storage system we also use a web based email system.  We select systems that are robust, secure, and comply with requirements for GDPR.

Where there is, for example an emergency and life threatening situation, then we will provide personal details as required to the emergency services.

Except for the two limited circumstances above we do not share your personal data with any other organisations.

We keep personal data for the following timescales:

Contact type	Data retention policy
Customers / clients:	Duration of project + 12 years.
Other project stakeholders:	Duration of project + 12 years.
Other contacts:	Last contact date + 5 years.
Project participant:	Duration of project + 12 years unless consented otherwise in consent form.

Your data protection rights

Under data protection law, you have rights including:

• Your right of access – You have the right to ask us for copies of your personal information. Please contact us at inbox@urban-habitats.com if you wish to make a request.
• Your right to rectification – You have the right to ask us to rectify information you think is inaccurate. You also have the right to ask us to complete information you think is incomplete.
• Your right to erasure – You have the right to ask us to erase your personal information in certain circumstances.
• Your right to restriction of processing – You have the right to ask us to restrict the processing of your information in certain circumstances.
• Your right to object to processing – You have the the right to object to the processing of your personal data in certain circumstances.
• Your right to data portability – You have the right to ask that we transfer the information you gave us to another organisation, or to you, in certain circumstances.
• You are not required to pay any charge for exercising your rights. If you make a request, we have one month to respond to you.

How to complain

Please contact us at inbox@urban-habitats.com if you wish to make a complaint.

You can also complain to the ICO if you are unhappy with how we have used your data:

Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF.

Helpline number: 0303 123 1113