Intervention 4 Enable and equip individuals and communities to participate in adaptation, focusing on the most vulnerable Aim: Increased desire of individuals and communities to shape their places so they are climate ready and an increase in resources for equipping them to do so, effectively building cohesion and social capital between intersecting communities of interest and geography. This should increase the pace and scale of community and local level action on adaptation. Background: Glasgow City Region’s 1.8m people, and in particular young people, have a long-term stake in their local places and a vested interest in making them climate ready. There are opportunities for a wide range of differing communities and groups to play a larger and more direct role in helping shape places to meet the challenge, but these vary depending on local diversity, geography and wider social and economic issues. Past transformations in the region have not always been for the better of all, creating inequalities. The challenge: Adapting Glasgow City Region is a transformational challenge for all of society, which cannot be solved by a single ‘top down’ approach. Our approach must learn from past failures where transformation widened inequalities. Instead, it requires a plurality of views and new forms of decision-making, with communities directly involved in shaping the future of their local places. Doing this requires a range of engagement interventions which effectively support communities to understand issues and get involved. Individuals and communities also need support to develop resiliency skills and knowledge, so that in time they are delivering adaptation responses themselves and can influence adaptation-related decisions that are being made within the region. At the same time, institutions must reshape to better respond to community needs, allowing ongoing dialogue and engagement with people to help adapt local places – especially in areas facing more challenging issues such as sea level rise. This is particularly important for those most likely to be affected by the impacts of climate change, who often lack the voice to make their views heard and ensure they are the focus. Where communities have no, or little, control over their immediate environment, there is evidence this correlates with chronic stress and resulting ill health and shortened life expectancy. 15 In both cases, we will need a range of tools and trusted organizations at our disposal to effectively engage, educate and develop opportunities to work collaboratively with those living and working in Glasgow City Region. This will require working with different types of communities, including those that are difficult to reach and bringing them into a space of working towards shared and agreed outcomes – something that is extremely challenging, given the skills gap around effective community involvement and requires appropriate, time, resources and mechanisms. Where are we now? The Scottish Government is increasingly creating opportunities for communities to participate but more is possible. Adaptation Scotland’s 16 localities projects are building the capacity of communities who want to adapt and to have the skills to do so. Through Resilient Regions: Clyde Rebuilt and small projects such as Cultural Adaptations, cultural organizations have begun to be engaged on their roles in enhancing the region’s resilience by working with communities on climate impact. More broadly, tools such as the Place Standard Tool are helping bring communities and residents into discussions about how their places develop.
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