River channel planform changes in upland Scotland : with specific reference to climate fluctuation and landuse changes over the last 250 years

Rates of river channel change in three contrasting Scottish upland environments have been studied within the context of Climatic fluctuation and landuse changes over the last 250 years. The object of the research was to assess the spatial and temporal variation in channel types, the main controls on channel pattern and the dominant modes of channel adjustment. This was undertaken in a hierarchic framework with sites being investigated at three spatial scales. At a macro-scale, the spatial and temporal variation in channel pattern was evaluated through a random sample of river channel segments for each study area, derived from the first and second editions of the 1:10,560 0.S. maps plus the 1:10,000 third edition. Each channel segment was classified within a map-based channel system typology, specifically constructed for upland Scotland. Measures of activity collected for each sample incorporated sinuosity, braiding and lateral shift indices. Flood histories were reconstructed for each study area on the basis of discharge records, long rainfall records and contemporary accounts, to assess if there was any evidence for climatic change, fluctuation or periodicities. Estimates of the recurrence interval of rainfall and runoff events of differing magnitude, frequency and duration were assessed. Data, mainly of a qualitative nature, were derived from contemporary sources and estate plans to evaluate whether any landuse changes could have changed the runoff regime and sediment mobility within each catchment. At a meso-scale, 7 to 9 channel segments (already identified as "active" within the macro-scale study) were subject to a more detailed process-response analysis, using sequential aerial photographs. Finally at a micro-scale, the unit stream powers at these sites were studied in relation to specific runoff rates thereby relating channel process to channel form. The strength of the controls on channel planform type varied in degree with the area studied. The glacial legacy, the positioning of local baselevels and sediment size were found to be dominant controls. In terms of channel dynamics, the position of the Channel planform in relation to process thresholds and the existence of a quasi-equilibrium condition were both very important. In terms of process-response, the following general observations hold true. An extreme event of high RI (>100 years) will have a major disruptive impact if there is room for expansion of the channel system and providing thresholds for sediment transport are exceeded. If these thresholds are high, the fact that the channel has not recently been disrupted may also be important. The modes of expansion across the active area depend on the type of channel involved. Different study areas have different types of Channel pattern present and thus a greater likelihood of certain types of planform adjustment. The role of more moderate events (10-50 years) varies principally with sediment size and Channel slope. Small-scale modification may take place where stream powers associated with more moderate events exceed competence thresholds. It was found that process rates were highly variable in both time and space and that present rates were not necessarily representative of the past 250 years. Even within this timespan, there have been periods of increased activity in response to increased discharges of moderate magnitude (eg. 1870s-1880s within the Dee study area) and random extreme magnitude floods (eg. between 1948-1956 in the Tweed study area). The impact of landuse change, especially in relation to sediment mobilisation (Dee and Spey study areas), and speed of runoff (Tweed study area) also appeared to be important

Editorial: Hazards and Disasters: Learning, Teaching, Communication and Knowledge Exchange

Geography’s ‘unique selling point’, alongside its concern for spatial relationships, is its ability to unite social and environmental perspectives. Amidst a large literature, Ravi Singh (2009, p. 2) suggests, “The general trends in the history of geographical thoughts do suggest our discipline’s guiding principle has been its integrated perspective under which human and physical (natural) domains are simultaneously considered interconnected and interrelated”. He also suggests that a key item ..

Recovery and resilience of communities in flood risk zones in a small island developing state: A case study from a suburban settlement of Port Louis, Mauritius

Small island developing states (SIDS) are characterised by their small size, remoteness and their dispersal in vulnerable regions globally. In Mauritius, rapid economic growth and expansion of suburban and coastal settlements in flood risk zones have exacerbated challenges from increased vulnerability of local communities to frequent flooding and inadequate resilience. While most studies are devoted to coastal flooding due to sea level rise, inland flooding aggravated by human settlements on exposed areas and by human-environment interaction is rarely considered. Generally, studies have focused on immediate flood impacts rather than on post-event recovery factors that reduce resilience and lead to the inability to recover through successive events. This includes living through onslaught of secondary hazards post-event. This study (2008-2014) focuses on the recovery and resilience of a flood-prone community living in a suburban area of Port-Louis, the capital of Mauritius.A mixed method of quantitative and qualitative approaches was used to examine the recovery and resilience of the community at household level. Results from quantitative analysis showed significant associations at p≤0.05 between variables relating to recovery and those of income level, literacy level, and household size with children, and/or elderly persons. Qualitative results from focus group interviews indicated that social inequity and environmental injustice hindered recovery among low-income households. However, some resilience was present through community capital, with solidarity in times of adversity amongst some community sub-groups. Outcomes from a participatory exercise showed that experiential knowledge of how to cope with floods was crucial in resilience-building strategies of households and communities

‘Shock and Awe’ or ‘Reflection and Change’: stakeholder perceptions of transformative learning in higher education

This research explored reflections among the conference participants on how transformative learning is defined, how it might be researched, and the implications for research-informed teaching and learning in higher education. Particular attention is given to the role of students, staff and different contexts to learning. Recurrent themes from the participant discussions were the contested nature of transformative learning and issues like: how transformative learning can be facilitated at institutional level; whether assessment was antithetic to the nature of transformative learning; and how ESD, internationalisation and citizenship might provide positive test beds for research-informed teaching around transformative learning

‘Learning for resilience’: Developing community capital through flood action groups in urban flood risk settings with lower social capital

© 2017 Elsevier Ltd The role of civil agency in preparing and adapting to changing risk is an increasingly critical element within devolved local flood risk management. However, effective civil agency for flood resilience needs to draw on, and if necessary develop, community capital. Community Action Groups form one model for local resilience building for flood risk, and one actively supported by some governments. This research evaluates the participatory model of flood group development involving horizontal support rather than top-down or bottom-up generation. The process involved nascent groups working with an NGO facilitator in the implementation of a set of processes framed in the context of ‘learning for resilience’ that supported flood group development in a situation of challenged social capital (lower socio-economic status; health issues, lack of previous flood experience) in the UK. The methodology involved repeat semi-structured interviews with flood group members and flood risk management (FRM) agencies who worked with them through the process, as well as observation of flood group meetings. Results outline how groups emerge from transient and disconnected communities, the value of local knowledge, evolving communication skills and agency, normalisation of group members within participatory processes, frustrations within these processes, group sustainability and FRM agency perspectives. Discussion then critiques the co-working/partnership model and assesses its implications for social ‘learning for resilience’ within challenged flood groups with variable social capital. The authors propose a framework (’The 6Ss’) for anticipating concerns or barriers within such participatory processes as a guide to future local urban DRR practice

Sustainable flood memory: Remembering as resilience

© 2016, © The Author(s) 2016. This article proposes the concept of sustainable flood memory as a critical and agentic form of social and cultural remembering of learning to live with floods. Drawing upon research findings that use the 2007 floods in the South West of England as a case study, we explore and analyse the media representations of flooding, the role of community and communicative memory of past floods for fostering resilience, and map emotional and affective responses to floods. To approach flooding in this way is critical to understanding how communities engage in memory practices (remembering and strategically forgetting) in order to cope with environmental changes. Moreover, the article embraces a research design and strategy in which ‘memory studies’ is brought into a conversation not only with geography (mental maps), social sciences and flood risk management policy but also with stakeholders and communities who collect, archive and remember flood histories in their respective regions

Reweaving urban water-community relations: Creative, participatory river “daylighting” and local hydrocitizenship

Framed by questions about ‘hydrocitizenship’ in the 21st century, this co-produced, interdisciplinary arts and humanities-centred research explores the (re)weaving of local knowledges, experiences, perceptions and values of water and place through the concept, process and practice of ‘daylighting hidden rivers’. Located at the nexus of three theoretical frames – ‘participation’, ‘hydrocitizenship’, and ‘daylighting’, it engages reflexively with strong and weak ‘hydrocitizenship’ and with paradigms of ‘daylighting’. Working with diverse communities and organisations in South Bristol (UK), this eco-social research project discovered community concerns and needs, and positioned itself in relation to these in co-production. This involved older people, children and professional stakeholders in a place-specific, ‘catchment’ setting, using novel arts-led, creative, narrative mapping processes. We critically examined the value, opportunities and tensions of this multi-method approach to people’s past, present and future connections and relationships with their local (water) environment, their senses of self and community. Our iterative processes of seeking out ‘lesser heard’ voices were conceived and played out around a braided cascade of ‘openings’: emerging, connecting, enacting, imagining and reflecting. Thinking critically about our oblique, emergent processes, we identify fifteen ‘top tips’ concerning the creative participatory daylighting of lay knowledges and values, and ‘River Visioning’. These can inform co-working with communities to enable and empower citizen engagement with places and local water issues for resilient futures. Our findings contribute new understandings of ‘hydrocitizenship’ and creative participatory ‘daylighting’ in combination, when urban spaces are construed as ‘Water Cities’, cascading both water and narratives. Importantly, our co-production processes with lesser heard groups also exemplify ‘higher-order participation’ in co-visioning resilient futures, with all the messiness, complexity and conflicts exposed

'Learning for resilience’ as the climate changes: Discussing flooding, adaptation and agency with children

Climate change scenarios project higher flood risk, so knowing how households can increase socio-ecological resilience is essential. Children rarely feature in UK policy guidance about how households prepare for floods, and research is limited about children’s roles in local resilience building. Using a participatory action research, child-centred methodology we explored (7-9year old) children’s knowledge, skills and dispositions in discussions about flooding, suggesting processes for effectively engaging them in Learning for Resilience (LfR). Results suggest children have existing knowledge, skills and dispositions concerning local and international flood risk originating from various sources. They displayed cross-cultural learning, embryonic systems-thinking, and understandings of theirs and others’ agency, including adults’ reasons for un-preparedness, revealing awareness of risk underestimation and deferral/denial of risk. The paper offers framing of a new taxonomy for young children’s significant ‘LfR’ and seven ‘top tips’ to facilitate, design and implement learning strategies with children around environmental risk, in the UK and internationally, in climate change contexts

Co-designing an online ‘Utility Tool’ to bridge science and community knowledge through storytelling [Abstract]

The often large gaps between the views of professional scientists and those of the general public (Funk et al., 2015), suggest that the public's science literacy leaves something to be desired (Crowther et al., 2016). After having identified recurrent gaps between scientific and lay knowledge around drought risk in UK, the DRY Project team was involved in a complex participatory process to co-design with stakeholders from a variety of sectors an online ‘Utility Tool’ in which science and community knowledge were merged through storytelling. DRY is a 4-year project, funded under the RCUK Drought and Water Scarcity Programme, with the aim of developing an evidence-based resource for drought risk management in which scientific data and multiple narratives are brought together to facilitate decision-making processes and improve community resilience. Working from the premise that storytelling has value in enabling different forms of knowledge, inclusivity and capitals (Goldstein 2013; Constant & Roberts 2017; Valentine & Sadgrove 2014), this paper critically reflects on our learning experience around evolving approaches to facilitate stakeholders’ engagement for the development of the ‘DRY Utility Tool’. It will explore in particular stakeholders’ role in choosing and shaping the methodology and evaluating the two main tools: the ‘DRY Story Bank’ to make stories accessible, searchable and usable, and the ‘DRY Story Map’ to triangulate narrative, science and place. It will also describe how developing those tools, revealed a critical tension around the interaction between facts and opinions, data and personal memories, and stimulated a deeper reflection on the beliefs that drive people’s behaviours