Future proofing urban neighbourhoods - Evaluating the roleof community co-design in delivering multipleenvironmental and social benefits from flood re

Extreme weather patterns caused by long-term globalclimate change coupled with land use change has increasedthe frequency, distribution and intensity of urban flooding.Not only does this threaten human life (Richard, 2016), italso has knock-on effects for both economic and socialdevelopment, with the cost of flood damage and associatedlosses estimated at over $104 billion per year globally(Kundzewicz et al., 2014).Flooding is ranked as the UK's most serious natural hazard,with more than one in six properties (around five millionproperties in total) and a high percentage of the nation'skey infrastructure at risk (Environment Agency, 2015).During 2015-16, flood events were estimated to have costthe British economy £1.6 billion (Environment Agency,2018). Additionally, flooding can cause considerableproblems for communities (Lo and Chan, 2017) anddisruption to people's lives that can have a significantimpact upon their physical and mental health and well-being (Tapsell and Tunstall, 2008). The role of Blue Green Infrastructure (BGI), the strategicallyplanned network of natural or semi natural areas withinurban areas and Nature Based Solutions (NBS), approachesto challenges that involve working with nature, areincreasingly recognised for their role in allowing cities toadapt to climate change and mitigate the impacts offlooding is increasingly recognised (European Commission,2013; Scott et al., 2017; Everett et al., 2018). Furthermore, BGI and NBS can bring additional benefitssuch as promoting healthier lifestyles that lead toincreased well-being, supporting the green economy,improving biodiversity and ecological resilience, improvingwater quality and climate change mitigation (UK GreenBuilding 119 Council, 2015; Le Li et al., 2020). As a result,England's recently published Flood Management strategy highlights the need for a broader range of actions than thegrey infrastructure traditionally used, and mandatesincorporation of NBS for climate resilient places (UKGovernment, 2020).There is also a growing consensus that increasedcommunity involvement improves the results of Flood RiskManagement (FRM) projects, with benefits including;integration of local knowledge into solutions (Lane et al.,2011); decreased local resistance (Thaler and Levin-Keitel,2016); improved trust (Begg et al., 2015; Mehring et al.,2018); and increased long-term community resilience(Laurien et al., 2020; McEwen et al., 2018). Furthermore, itis likely that community involvement may lead to widerenvironmental and social benefits such as greater agency,civic engagement and social cohesion. Despite this,progress regarding participation in urban planning remainsslow, with a lack of collaboration and co-designopportunities frequently preventing active participation ofcommunities (Wilker et al., 2016). Furthermore, recent workhas highlighted that there are challenges of equitablyengaging across diverse and highly mobile communities,with differences in motivations, capabilities and capacity(Harrison et al., 2021).Working with the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust, this PhDproject will investigate how community research and co-design can be used to inform BGI and NBS efforts tomanage floods risk and create resilient communities. It willtake a participatory and action-oriented approach whichaims to equitably engage residents and work with them asco-researchers to evaluate the environmental and socialbenefits of the approach