Posted on 20/03/19 by Kristen Guida
News and Past Events
London Flood Awareness Week London Flood Awareness week ran from 12 to 18 November. This was a partnership campaign led by the GLA with the Environment Agency, London Resilience, and Thames Water. Roughly 1.3 million people are living and working in areas of tidal and fluvial flood risk and around a third of London’s 80,000 basement properties are at risk of flooding in a severe storm. The campaign aimed to raise awareness of all types of flood risk in London, particularly surface water flooding, and specifically target people likely to be more vulnerable to flooding. It also encouraged individuals and communities to take low/no-cost actions before, during, and after any period of flooding.
The week was marked by an innovative social media campaign that included a ‘How would you cope’ online quiz. Initial estimates suggest that the online campaign reached more than 21,000 Londoners, with approximately 1,075 participants signing up for more information. Materials such as flood packs, leaflets and posters, were also distributed to people via partners, such as Age UK and Thames21.
The link to the webpage and the quiz is here.
Keeping our Feet Dry To coincide with London Flood Awareness Week, Resilience First held a breakfast briefing on 15 November on the theme of resilience to urban flooding. Speakers and panellists came from Thornton Tomasetti, McGregor Coxall, Thames Water, and the Environment Agency. Relevant blogs can be found on the Resilience First website (www.resiliencefirst.co.uk) and presentation slides can be obtained on request from rhall@resiliencefirst.co.uk.
Creating a Resilient Future for London Led by Fiona Twycross, the Deputy Mayor for Fire and Resilience, London launched its programme under the Rockefeller 100 Resilient Cities initiative on 26 November. Stakeholders from across sectors in London were asked to define resilience, to prioritize London’s shocks and stresses, and to consider how well London is doing with regard to economic, social, technical, environmental, and other aspects of resilience. Climate-related risks were prominently featured, and participants noted the effect of social vulnerability on resilience.
Behaviour Change and Climate Risk LCCP is supporting an AECOM-led project commissioned by the Adaptation Sub Committee to learn about how behaviour affects, and is affected by, climate risk. On December 14, we convened the first expert panel meeting, which included colleagues from Thames Water, Resilience First, LSHTM, Public Health England, UCL, and LSE. The purpose of the meeting was to agree the methodology and structure of the project. LCCP will also provide stakeholder engagement functions for the project, identifying relevant case studies and interview subjects. If you are interested in finding out more about the project, contact Kristen.
Heat Risk in London Group The group met on December 6 and heard from Public Health England about research quantifying the urban heat island and the effectiveness of cool roofs. WSP consultants also provided a presentation about their work for the GLA modelling air quality, heat, and noise and developing guidance for practitioners. The notes of the meeting and presentations will be available here.
Forward Look
for more information about any events, contact Kristen unless otherwise specified.
January 10: UKCP18 briefing. Join LCCP partners and others at City Hall for a briefing on the new climate projections, including data and supporting materials. More information here. Registration is closed but contact Kristen if you would like to attend.
January 31: Breakfast briefing: Standards in Resilience. This briefing will examine the role of standards in driving resilience. Speakers will include Dr Rob MacFarlane, Deputy Director, Civil Contingencies Secretariat, National Security Secretariat, Cabinet Office, and Caroline Field, Head of Resilience (Europe), Thornton Tomasetti and Committee Chair, British Standard for City Resilience (BS 67000). To register via email contact contact@resiliencefirst.co.uk
May 28-31: European Climate Change Adaptation (ECCA) conference, Lisbon. Details about the themes of the conference, how to submit sessions, and how to register are available here.
July 1-7: London Climate Action Week The establishment of a London Climate Action Week in 2019 is intended to provide a unifying moment for those working on climate action in London and demonstrate London’s role as a global and national hub of climate action. The objectives of the week are to: