1. UK Neighbourhood Planning Policy as a
Tool for Building Community Resilience
and Integrating Flood Risk ReductionStephanie Buller
MRes Disaster Risk and Reduction
Supervised by; Prof. D. Alexander (IRDR) & DR. L. Griffin (DPU) Stephanie.buller.14@ucl.ac.uk
INSTITUTE FOR
RISK AND
DISASTER
REDUCTION
The capitals can be regarded as the components of capacity (resources, assets
and skills) which allows a community to effectively respond and recover from a
disaster.
From the analysis of 15 neighbourhood plans, using open coding it would appear
that neighbourhood planning and neighbourhood plans can build the 4 capitals
shown in figure 2, in the following ways
Figure 3. The capitals through neighbourhood planning
5.2 Flood Risk Reduction
Flood risk reduction was a secondary component of this research and from the
analysis of neighbourhood plans and other documentation. It would appear that
flood risk reduction can be incorporated into neighbourhood plans in the following
ways;
Figure 4. Types of policies that communities can put into a neighbourhood plan that can address the
risk of flooding
6. Discussion
The preliminary findings are encouraging, suggesting that Neighbourhood
planning may have the potential capacity for building community resilience and
integrating flood risk reduction strategies into local communities.
The extent to which neighbourhood plans are being used for these purposes,
and the opportunities and challenges of doing this, will be determined through
further investigation and analysis. Overall this is to conclude whether or not
neighbourhood planning is a tool capable of building community resilience and
integrating risk reduction measures into local communities.
1. Introduction
This research is interdisciplinary study of UK development policy and disaster
risk reduction strategies. To determine whether there currently exists a fully
operational framework for mainstreaming disaster risk reduction practises in the
UK.
2. Background
Pre-disaster community-based approaches strongly promoted to create
appropriate solutions to local risks and to develop the capacities that a
community can use to cope in the event of a disaster, thus making the
community resilient.
Neighbourhood Planning Policy was designed to be a powerful tool which could
empower local communities by granting them greater control over the future
development in their area (Chetwyn, 2013). This research will test the hypothesis
that neighbourhood planning policy has indirectly created the means for
mainstreaming disaster risk reduction practises in the UK.
3. Scope and objective
The purpose of this research is exploratory, it seeks to determine if
neighbourhood planning can build community resilience and secondly if
neighbourhood planning can incorporate flood risk reduction into local
Communities. Figure 1 outlines the research framework;
Figure 1. The research framework
4. Methodology
Table 1. The research methodology
This research intends to be of practical use, by generating new findings towards
an improved understanding of the potentials for neighbourhood planning. The
research is therefore pragmatic and retroductive, placing the research questions
at the centre of the research design, ensuring a high degree of flexibility.
5. Preliminary results
Community Resilience
The primary focus of this research is to determine whether NPP can be a tool for
building community resilience. To do this the research takes a capital based
approach, using the model shown in figure 2. This model has been developed
based on the work by Mayunga, (2007).
Figure 2. The capital-based
approach
References;
Chetwyn, D. 2013. Neighbourhood Plans Roadmap Guide. Locality. [Online] http://locality.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/Roadmap-worksheets-map-May-13.pdf [Accessed 21 May 2016]
Mayunga, J. S. 2007. Understanding and Applying the Concept of Community Disaster Resilience: A capital-based approach. Draft working paper prepared for the summer academy for social vulnerability and resilience building, 22 – 28 July 2007, Munich, Germany
Sansom, H., and Stone, D. 2016. Low Carbon Neighbourhood Planning: A guidebook. Centre for Sustainable Energy, Bristol [Online] https://www.cse.org.uk/downloads/reports-and-publications/policy/community-energy/energy-advice/planning/renewables/low-carbon-neighbourhood-planning-guidebook.pdf [Accessed 23 May 2016]
Twigg, J. 2015. Disaster Risk Reduction. Good Practise Review 9 commissioned by Humanitarian Practise Network. New Edition 2015. Humanitarian Policy Group, Overseas Development Institute, London
UNISDR. 2004. Living with Risk: A global review of disaster reduction initiatives. United Nations ISDR, 2004 Version – Volume 1[Online] Geneva, Switzerland. http://www.unisdr.org/files/657_lwr1.pdf [Accessed 02 May 2016]
Research Element Method
Research philosophy Pragmatism
Research approach Retroduction
Research strategy Exploratory case-studies
Method choice Multi-method qualitative
Time-horizon Cross-sectional
Data collection Document analysis/ interviews/ questionnaires
Data analysis Open-coded analysis
Social Capital
• Planning facilitates;
participation, collaboration,
communication, shared
resources, collective action,
engagement, empowerment,
ownership, trust.
Economic Capital
• Policies can protect and
enhance Jobs, Housing,
diversification, transport and
attract external investments
Environmental Capital
• Policies can designate open
green spaces, protect and
enhance green infrastructure
and facilitate the adoption of
sustainable transport.
Human Capital
• Policies can protect, improve
and increase access to services
and facilities.
• Planning can increase the skills
and knowledge of community
members.Research Objectives
A1) Identify how neighbourhood planning
policy can develop the capitals that foster
community resilience
A2) Develop an understanding of how the
neighbourhood planning process can
develop community resilience
A3) Establish whether neighbourhood
plans are incorporating policies that can
facilitate the development of community
resilience
B1) Identify how neighbourhood planning
policy can incorporate flood risk reduction
B2) Develop an understanding of how the
process of neighbourhood planning can
increase flood risk reduction practises
within a community.
Research Aims
a) To understand how neighbourhood
plans and planning can foster community
resilience
b) To establish how neighbourhood
planning can integrate flood risk reduction
into communities
Research Questions
a) How is it that neighbourhood planning
in terms of the process and the final plan
can build resilience?
b) what are the ways in which flood risk
reduction can be included into the
Neighbourhood plan to integrate it into
development?
Prevention of development in
flood risk zones
Inclusion of Sustainable urban
drainage systems (SuDs)
Protection of open spaces,
green spaces and flood
attenuation sites
Protection and enhancement of
green infrastructure (GI)Community infrastructure levy
(CIL) funds for flood related
projects
Reduced Flood Risk
Community
Resilience
Social Capital
Economic
Capital
Human Capital
Environmental
Capital