University of Twente Student Theses
Factors influencing climate change adaptation by residents : comparative case study of projects in Eindhoven
Coulibaly, Adama (2023) Factors influencing climate change adaptation by residents : comparative case study of projects in Eindhoven.
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| Abstract: | Climate change is a global environmental issue today and will continue to be in the future. Mitigation measures are not enough to stop climate change. The need to adapt is required at the global level, especially at the city level because of the high population who live in urban areas. The involvement of residents in adaptive actions alongside of local governments is increasingly important to decrease the impacts of extreme weather events. The Netherlands is vulnerable to climate change since 2/3 of its territory is located below sea level and it is also an urbanized and densely populated country per square kilometer compared to many countries. The DPRA aims to make the Netherlands climate resilient country by 2050. Other organizations like municipalities are expected to identify vulnerabilities in their area through a stress test, to conduct adaptation dialogues with relevant stakeholders and to formulate strategy to deal with these vulnerabilities. The municipality of Eindhoven started the adaptation dialogues in different projects to encourage residents to undertake adaptive actions themselves. According to studies (e.g., Sarzynski, 2015; Roggero,2019; Wamsler, 2019), these residents′ adaptive actions are generally influenced by factors such as regulations, financial incentives, participation and local-context conditions. This study aimed to explain the influence of adaptation dialogues, policy instruments ( regulations and financial incentives) and local-context conditions on adaptive actions of residents in Eindhoven. This study also aimed to formulate recommendations to the municipality in order to stimulate residents′ adaptive actions in the private spaces related to climate change adaptation. To achieve the objectives of this study, a conceptual model was developed based on literature research. The model involves the factors (participation, policy instruments and local-context conditions) as independent variables and adaptive actions as dependent variables. The models shows a direct relationship between participation, policy instruments and adaptive actions. The model also states that the local-context conditions affect the relationships between participation, policy instruments and adaptive actions. To explain and compare the influence of the factors, a single case, the city of Eindhoven was used. The case involves three projects: project A (Hastelweg/Strijpsestraat), project B (Vestdijk) and project C (Philipsdorp). The projects are embedded in a similar context, i.e. adaptation to climate change in the Netherlands, which is stimulated by the DPRA. Data ( qualitative and quantitative) were collected via document analysis and interviews with civil servants involved in the projects. Data stemming from these two sources were compared to the total number of households per project to determine whether a factor scored high, medium or low. Furthermore, data were analyzed according to the literature. Based on the conceptual model, the assessment of the projects shows that Project A scored medium on participation, and implemented the most adaptive actions probably because local-context conditions have a supportive influence. While project B also scored medium as project A on participation, but implemented the fewest adaptive actions probably because local-context conditions have a restrictive influence. Project C scored low on participation, and implemented the second most adaptive actions probably because more local-context conditions have a supportive influence. As for regulations, all projects scored high, whereas regarding financial incentives project A had the highest score compared to projects B and C. Furthermore, project A had the most supportive local-context conditions, followed by project C and project B. Based on the findings of this present study, it can be stated that the municipality of Eindhoven can rely on participation to motivate residents to undertake adaptive actions in the private spaces. Furthermore, the influence of participation on adaptive actions of residents was likely affected by the local-context conditions such as house ownership. The influence of policy instruments on residents′ adaptive actions was probably also affected by local-context conditions. To achieve its ambition to be a climate-proof in 2050, it is recommended that the municipality of Eindhoven should involve an active citizen advisory group for adaptive actions of residents such as project A. In addition, it is recommended to pay more attention to communication about the financial incentives of green gardens and green roofs. Moreover, future research should be focusing to the same characteristics of projects in terms of the type of houses. |
| Item Type: | Essay (Master) |
| Faculty: | ET: Engineering Technology |
| Subject: | 56 civil engineering |
| Programme: | Civil Engineering and Management MSc (60026) |
| Link to this item: | https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/94978 |
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