SOCIALLY JUST AND ADAPTIVE COMMUNITY SPACES
SOCIALLY JUST AND ADAPTIVE COMMUNITY SPACES
DECODING CLIMATE SCIENCE
ISSUES
RESILIENCE | GOVERNANCE
KEY ASPECTS
RESEARCH | PLANNING
COMMUNITY COMMONS AS ADAPTIVE SPACES
As climate change induced risks intersect with unprecedented urbanisation, the implications on livelihoods and health of urban poor in the Global South are immense. Interventions target either the household and or the state/city-region. While the former is insufficient to engage with externalities of livelihoods and resource access, the latter is too abstract an arena for action. “Community Commons” or shared spaces within settlements constitute critical spaces to evolve resilience strategies that can attenuate socio-spatial deprivations of the urban poor. The commons experience multiple intersecting risks. By extension, these spaces also embody the potential to address these risks. The research attempts to comprehend the myriad ways in which these spaces accommodate individual and community living to position these as critical elements of adaptation and mitigation. Check out the highlights of this research in the ArcGIS StoryMaps below. https://arcg.is/0f1fSz
R:House frontage being used for cooking and storing domestic paraphernalia. Location: Goller Oni Slum in Dharwad, Karnataka
The research employs a co-creation process. Bringing together CBOs, researchers, and policy and planning professionals it foregrounds ground-up perspectives, informing the formal top-down climate action. The research outlines geographically and socio-culturally contextual adaptation / mitigation strategies to strengthen the commons as social, economic, and environmental spaces. The case-studies represent varying geographic and cultural contexts such as the urban poor settlements in Dharwad, Ranchi, and Bengaluru in the Indian context, Moravia (Colombia), and settlements in South Africa. The project is supported by the ARA Micro-grants (Adaptation Research Alliance) and our partners are Plan Adapt (South Africa), URBAM (Colombia), and Mahila Housing Trust (India).
ISSUES
RESILIENCE | GOVERNANCE
KEY ASPECTS
RESEARCH | PLANNING
COMMUNITY COMMONS AS ADAPTIVE SPACES
The research explored the diverse ways in which Community Commons—shared spaces within settlements—supported both individual and community living, positioning them as critical elements of climate adaptation and mitigation. The study employed a co-creation process, bringing together Community-Based Organizations (CBOs), researchers, and policy and planning professionals to integrate ground-up perspectives into formal, top-down climate action.
The research outlined geographically and socio-culturally contextual adaptation and mitigation strategies to strengthen commons as social, economic, and environmental spaces.
The case studies covered diverse geographic and cultural contexts, including urban poor settlements in Dharwad, Ranchi, and Bengaluru (India), Moravia (Colombia), and settlements in South Africa.
The project was supported by the ARA Micro-grants (Adaptation Research Alliance) and carried out in partnership with Plan Adapt (South Africa), URBAM (Colombia), and Mahila Housing Trust (India).
Check out the highlights of the research in this ArcGIS Story Maps - Socially Just and Adaptive Community Spaces
R:House frontage being used for cooking and storing domestic paraphernalia. Location: Goller Oni Slum in Dharwad, Karnataka
ISSUES
PUBLIC POLICY | CLIMATE CHANGE
KEY ASPECTS
RESEARCH | DIALOGUE
Climate Literacy for Enhancing Resilience
This action research, conducted in collaboration with the Centre for Public Impact (CPI), aimed to decode climate science and enhance climate literacy among all stakeholders, including citizens—particularly marginalized communities—and government bodies.
The research was aligned with the Bengaluru Climate Action and Resilience Plan and the efforts of the Bengaluru Climate Cell to engage citizens in climate action. It involved diverse demographic groups with varying incomes, capabilities, and capacities.
To highlight intersecting vulnerabilities that intensified climate susceptibility, the study used a social analysis framework and an intersectional lens to develop a nuanced understanding of how different social groups perceived and experienced climate stress, as well as how they coped with and adapted to it. These insights were crucial in identifying effective adaptation strategies and policy measures for those most affected by climate change.