Details of Award
NERC Reference : NE/T01394X/1
Mobilising Adaptation: Governance of Infrastructure through Coproduction (Topic B)
Grant Award
- Principal Investigator:
- Professor L Sharp, University of Sheffield, Urban Studies and Planning
- Co-Investigator:
- Dr N Dunnett, University of Sheffield, Landscape Architecture
- Co-Investigator:
- Dr GC Hughes, University of Hull, Education Studies
- Co-Investigator:
- Dr R W F Cameron, University of Sheffield, Landscape Architecture
- Co-Investigator:
- Professor V Stovin, University of Sheffield, Civil and Structural Engineering
- Co-Investigator:
- Dr S Payne, University of Sheffield, Urban Studies and Planning
- Co-Investigator:
- Dr M Clinch, Queen Mary University of London, Blizard Institute of Cell and Molecular
- Co-Investigator:
- Dr S Connelly, University of Sheffield, Urban Studies and Planning
- Grant held at:
- University of Sheffield, Urban Studies and Planning
- Science Area:
- Freshwater
- Terrestrial
- Overall Classification:
- Unknown
- ENRIs:
- Environmental Risks and Hazards
- Global Change
- Natural Resource Management
- Science Topics:
- Climate & Climate Change
- Environmental Planning
- Urban Geography
- Abstract:
- 'Mobilising Adaptation: Governance of Infrastructure through Coproduction' (MAGIC) will demonstrate and evaluate a community led approach to reducing flood risk, whilst providing opportunities for urban residents to improve their health and wellbeing, through better engagement with blue/green space. We will do this via a case study of the flood-vulnerable region around Hull. Landscape interventions such as raintanks, ponds, raingardens, swales (designed ditches) provide additional water storage and slow run-off after heavy rain, thus reducing flood risk. This is especially true if numerous features can be embedded in one area to provide additional flood storage. Flood authorities know that climate change requires more storage, but to date they have been reluctant to fit such features, due to insufficient public land and the complexity of operating/maintaining diverse features across a city. In MAGIC we will explore whether communities themselves can provide and manage such storage features either on public land or on their own properties. Motivation to do so may come from a desire to reduce flooding risk, but also because such features enhance 'a sense of place' when designed imaginatively. Moreover, re-greening urban areas has been linked to improvements in health/well-being (better mental health and greater opportunities for physical activity) as well as promoting social cohesion. This is especially so when the community comes together to plan and manage the features. Additionally, if people collaborate to make their neighbourhood more flood resilient, they learn about the dynamics of local flood risk and how best to manage this. Even when floods occur in the future (and they will not be stopped completely), having considered and reduced the extent of local flood risk may help people feel more in control. In summary, MAGIC aims to examine whether flood avoidance/resilience can be enhanced through greater activation and empowerment of local communities - activities which we believe will improve local water management, but also have additional positive effects on residents' locality and well-being. This will be achieved through a case study in flood-prone Hull. Indeed, MAGIC can be understood as initiating Hull's 'third reservoir', adding to the existing systems of water supply (first reservoir) and flood storage lagoons (second). The third reservoir is not a single body of water but the accumulated storage from domestic raintanks, raingardens and swales combining across different neighbourhoods to help absorb heavy rain. We will also address flood resilience e.g. flood warnings. Building on close relations established in a previous project, MAGIC aims to facilitate change in two contrasting neighbourhoods: Bilton village in the East Riding and Derringham in Hull. We will also work with developers to explore how novel design can ensure new developments contribute to flood resilience, but in a way which enhances greenery and increases property value rather than simply relying on 'hard' engineering solutions. We will interview policy makers in Hull and London to examine how local and national organisational structures and policy making frameworks enable or inhibit local involvement in flood risk management. We will work in close collaboration with the Living with Water Partnership (a formal partnership of the flood risk management authorities for the Hull drainage catchment) and the Hull and East Riding Timebank (>900 individuals and organisations exchanging skills and offering mutual aid in Hull). The project objectives are: 1.To develop methods of coproducing household and neighbourhood adaptive infrastructure 2.To adapt flood resilience products and services for an urban setting at a neighbourhood scale to ensure they deliver best value in terms of both functional water management and local wellbeing 3.To identify wider factors supporting or hindering the uptake of coproductive flood resilience.
- NERC Reference:
- NE/T01394X/1
- Grant Stage:
- Completed
- Scheme:
- Directed (Research Programmes)
- Grant Status:
- Closed
- Programme:
- UK Climate Resilience
This grant award has a total value of £759,103
FDAB - Financial Details (Award breakdown by headings)
| DI - Other Costs | Indirect - Indirect Costs | DA - Investigators | DI - Staff | DA - Estate Costs | DI - T&S | DA - Other Directly Allocated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| £103,202 | £242,569 | £78,272 | £245,007 | £54,934 | £33,260 | £1,858 |
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