IAP-26-039

Who benefits from blue-green flood resilience? Mapping the distribution, accessibility and social value of urban nature-based flood interventions

Nature-based flood measures can provide multiple benefits, but those benefits may not be evenly distributed. Communities experiencing high surface-water or river-flood exposure may have unequal access to quality greenspace, while opportunities for new wetlands, tree planting, rain gardens and other blue-green infrastructure are shaped by land availability, planning and investment. This PhD will investigate how the location and design of Green Network interventions influence both flood resilience and access to the benefits of urban nature.

The project will ask: (1) Which neighbourhoods combine relatively high flood exposure with limited access to quality green and blue space? (2) Where could blue-green interventions plausibly reduce surface runoff or provide local water storage while improving habitat and recreational connectivity? (3) How do residents and delivery organisations understand the benefits, constraints and fairness of proposed interventions?

Outputs will include a spatial equity assessment, a transparent multi-criteria method for identifying priority neighbourhoods, and co-produced recommendations for planning and delivering interventions. Hydrological claims will be supported by appropriate runoff or drainage analysis rather than inferred from greenspace proximity alone.

Compile flood exposure, deprivation, population, greenspace quality/access, land use, tree canopy, surface permeability and blue-green infrastructure datasets. Use GIS network analysis to measure accessibility and identify neighbourhoods with overlapping flood and greenspace deficits. Develop a transparent multi-criteria prioritisation approach with sensitivity testing and avoid treating deprivation as a proxy for individual vulnerability. For selected case-study neighbourhoods, map candidate interventions such as rain gardens, tree pits, depaving, swales, pocket wetlands and riparian enhancements; use simple but defensible runoff calculations or an appropriate urban drainage model where data are available. Conduct interviews, workshops or participatory mapping with residents and relevant local authority/community organisations, subject to ethics approval. Compare technical opportunity with local priorities, maintenance capacity and potential trade-offs.

Potential collaborators: GCR Green Network, local authority planning/flood-risk/greenspace teams, community organisations and SEPA. A placement could support co-design of an intervention-prioritisation tool or guidance for integrating flood resilience with equitable Green Network delivery.

Year 1

Literature review on urban flood risk, green infrastructure and environmental justice; select case-study areas with partners; assemble spatial datasets; develop GIS indicators; ethics application and engagement plan.

Year 2

Complete spatial accessibility and flood-exposure analysis; undertake neighbourhood mapping and site audits; identify candidate interventions; begin interviews/workshops and technical runoff assessment. Attendance and participation – poster or oral presentation – at a national conference e.g. River Restoration centre.

Year 3

Complete stakeholder engagement; integrate social and hydrological evidence; test prioritisation scenarios and sensitivity; co-produce recommendations; draft papers and partner outputs. Draft thesis chapter writing. Attendance and participation – poster or oral presentation at an international conference, e.g. EGU.

Year 3.5

Complete thesis and final synthesis; return findings to participating communities and partners; deliver prioritisation framework and accessible summary outputs.

GIS/network analysis; spatial statistics and multi-criteria analysis; urban hydrology/SuDS fundamentals; qualitative interviewing and facilitation; research ethics; participatory mapping; equality and environmental justice methods; data visualisation and policy communication.