Akhamy, Sarah (2020) ‘Willingness to participate’: How citizens of Rotterdam perceive water safety, and how willing they are to participate in the city’s resilience initiatives regarding water safety. Master thesis.
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Master Thesis - Sarah Akhamy (s4122992).pdf Download (1MB) | Preview |
Abstract
The Dutch city of Rotterdam has a long history of water challenges. Due to climate change, cities such as Rotterdam need to develop strategies to become climate adaptive. Resilience has proven to be a promising way of dealing with the consequences of climate change. These issues are more prominent in urban areas because of the large surface of concrete and asphalt, which absorb heat and make it difficult for water to infiltrate the ground, resulting in higher temperatures and increased flooding of sewage systems, which in turn cause citizens to experience more water nuisance in their living environment. Resilience approaches argue that inclusion and active participation of citizens are needed in resilience initiatives to achieve a resilient city. By conducting (online) focus groups and interviews, this research takes a closer look at the willingness to participate of citizens of Rotterdam in resilience initiatives about water safety in their city. First, findings showed that citizen perceptions and attitudes are divergent on water safety, water management and water nuisance. Second, water safety was viewed by most as no responsibility for citizens, as citizens in this study perceived themselves as having insufficient knowledge about water management and water safety, and not enough of a meaningful impact. Third, Willingness to Participate in water safety initiatives depended on four categories of considerations that citizens have: personal considerations, content and process considerations, housing considerations and responsibility considerations. Finally, the research presents a conceptual framework that shows how concepts such as Sense of Place, resilience and water safety interact with each other within the context of water safety initiatives in Rotterdam.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Master) |
|---|---|
| Degree programme: | Cultural Geography |
| Supervisor: | Mallon, G. |
| Date Deposited: | 01 Oct 2020 12:39 |
| Last Modified: | 01 Oct 2020 12:39 |
| URI: | https://frw.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/3370 |
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