Coming together to support community resilience in Tooting

THE CONTEXT  

The UK faces unprecedented escalating climate risks, 8 million properties face flooding risks alongside increasing episodes of extreme heat and the UK is “woefully underprepared” for climate impacts already locked in (Climate Change Committee’s 2024). Food security is at risk as extreme weather reduces yields and over half of England’s best agricultural land faces flooding (see Food Resilience Report DEFRA report Food Foundation Roadmap and AFNRoadmap).  According to the recent National Emergency Briefing, price shocks, food shortages and a destabilised economy are the new normal.  Meanwhile in 2024 AXA’s Climate Risk Index identified London as at particular risk of both extreme heat and flooding. 

This is on top of existing stressors on our community – worsening inequality, cost of living crisis and increasing social polarisation.  Current international conflicts add a further level of threat.

The vital role of community in resilience – preparedness, response and recovery.

In building resilience and in responding to risk and crises there is a need for response at every level from national to individual – but there is particular value in a local and hyperlocal level response to resilience planning. We know from experience that when challenges and disasters hit our locality it is our communities who will be the first to respond – and the last to leave. Increasingly research backs this up. 

When emergencies hit, communities with deeper social connections have higher survival rates and faster recovery (Aldrich). Social cohesion forms the foundation of community resilience, with trust, solidarity and mutual support fostering effective crisis responses (GLA Protection Approaches). 90% of help in an emergency in the first 24 hours comes from neighbours. Every neighbourhood needs a hub with local networks for both preventing disasters and responding when they hit (New Weather Institute). Community ownership of risk, embedded local capacities and building on what communities already know are essential for effective disaster risk management (UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction & National Consortium for Societal Resilience).   Meanwhile this new research from the National Consortium for Societal Resilience evidences that every “£1 invested in societal resilience to disruption generates £35.12 of public value.”  

WHO

WHAT