Flood Alleviation Design: Adopting a Social Perspective (PAP014321)

Código

PAP014321

Autores

Sarah L. Fitton, Alice Moncaster, Prof.Peter Guthrie

Tema

Flood risk management in mega cities

Resumo

The argument presented here calls for an approach to flood infrastructure design that considers not only the need for a technical perspective in design but a social perspective as well. This paper examines the preliminary findings from research that seeks to understand how the social value of UK flood protection schemes is interpreted and discussed by both communities and industry professionals responsible for flood infrastructure design. The preliminary findings are taken from a case study conducted between October and December 2013 in Ripon, UK. A series of semi-structured interviews were conducted with both the community and design professional responsible for the local flood protection scheme. The findings presented will demonstrate how social value is articulated and if a difference in interpretation exists between the communities it is designed for compared to the industry professionals that design it. The conclusions drawn from the preliminary research corroborates the argument that adopting a social perspective in flood infrastructure design produces not only a technically successful scheme, but a considered and socially acceptable scheme. This is an approach which should be adopted for future flood infrastructure design as more communities around the word are exposed to the very real risk of flood events. As a result of climate change and changing weather patterns, it is predicted that more intense rainfall will be experienced with rising sea levels due to increased precipitation. This results in a greater number of people across the world at risk and vulnerable to flood events, which will consequently mean the demand for flood protection infrastructure will also rise. Aspects of flood risk management such as flood protection schemes are not only critical for the protection of lives and properties, but also for economic growth. The presence of these schemes can unlock the economic potential of an area, attracting investment and employment opportunities. The benefits to both the local and national economy are numerous. However, flood infrastructure design as with most infrastructure design, is very much focused upon technical aspects and cost-effective solutions. Previous work, both in academia and industry have concentrated upon examining the complexity of infrastructure from a number of perspectives including: the physical structure itself, technical characteristics, governance and institutional arrangements and the financial mechanisms adopted for construction and operation. Infrastructure that is designed for the purpose of protecting society may not even be considering society in its design and less effort has been focused upon understanding the characteristics of the resultant services created. This is of concern because it indicates the possibility that flood infrastructure schemes may be developed without due consideration of the end user as design teams work in silos to provide technical solutions to what is, essentially, a social problem. Design teams neglect to consider how the communities hosting the physical infrastructure use the existing space; namely how they interact with the infrastructure once created and how they will utilise the space when there is not a flood event.