Placemaking and Rural Resilience in Response to Flooding in the UK

Adam Aitken is co-investigator on the project looking at placemaking and community resilience in response to flooding in the UK. The project was funded by the British Academy/Leverhulme Small Research Grants scheme. In November 2019, 2020, and 2021 parts of Yorkshire, East Midlands and parts of South East England were struck by severe flooding. These areas of the UK remain at high risk highlighting the vulnerability to flooding and other environmental changes.

Using Participatory Action Research in Matlock, Derbyshire, this research project seeks to understand:

1) How a community responded and has rebuilt following flooding in the local area.

2) How the attachment and bonds individuals share towards their home/place shape their response to this and the ongoing risks in a form of placemaking.

3) To identify if and how placemaking has shaped the development of community resilience in response to this flooding. 

Team: Dr Adam Aitken

Collaborator: Dr Ruth McKie (PI, De Montfort University)