WM Adapt: Maximising Adaptation to Climate Change in the West Midland & beyond
Project summary
Climate change is here, and urban areas are not adapted. In July 2022, temperatures in the West Midlands exceeded 38°C causing overheating in homes and residential facilities, school closures, travel disruption, data server failures, increased callouts for fires and water safety incidents. Flash flooding following heavy rainfall occurs regularly, with impacts including road closures and gridlocking, flooded properties and sewage overflow to streets. Climate adaptation action is needed to increase the West Midlands’ resilience to climate incidences – to ensure we can achieve the outcomes that we strive towards despite the changing climate.
West Midlands Adaptation (WM Adapt) is a £2m research project that, through close collaboration with the West Midlands Combined Authority and other local partners, seeks to drive a step change in local adaptation delivery.
The project will run over 30 months starting from early December 2024. It is led by an interdisciplinary team of researchers from the University of Birmingham (UoB) is funded by the Department for Environment, Food and
Rural Affairs (DEFRA) via the UKRI grant: Maximising UK adaptation to climate change research projects.
The key objectives of WM-Adapt are to:
- Obtain a regional understanding of community perspectives of climate adaptation
- Co-create and pilot community-scale, place-based adaptation pathways1
- Co-create a route map for building regional adaptive capacity through the establishment of a Regional Adaptation Network (RAN)
- Develop new capabilities for the West Midlands Climate Risk and Vulnerability Assessment (CRVA) mapping tools – improved understanding of overheating risks, health and economic impacts and future climate projections
- Local Authorities within the WMCA area
This project involves 3 workstreams:
- Community, place-based adaption pathways
- Climate risk and impact data enhancements
- Building regional adaptive capacity
“WM-Adapt represents a major step forward in our efforts to build climate resilience in the West Midlands. By integrating community perspectives into the existing adaptation work, undertaking new modelling of surface water flooding and the urban heat island, and bringing together regional organisations, we aim to create a robust framework that can be replicated across the UK.” Mayor of the West Midlands and chair of WMCA Richard Parker said: “Residents across the West Midlands need practical solutions to protect their homes and livelihoods from the devastating effects of flooding and extreme temperatures brought on by climate change. This ground breaking project will empower communities with the tools and knowledge they need to understand and tackle these risks, helping us to build a sustainable and secure future for everyone.”
Climate vulnerability and social-spatial inequalities will be CUWb’s key focus for participatory action research on this urgent issue, and we will be working with local authorities, Birmingham Voluntary Services Council Research, Climate Sense and others to strengthen community action and adaptation.
Project Team
University of Birmingham: Emma Ferranti, Andrew Quinn, Sarah Greenham, Xilin Xia, Qian Li, Yanzhi Lu (School of Engineering); Jessica Pykett (School of Geography Earth & Environmental Sciences, Centre for Urban Wellbeing); Suzanne Bartington, James Hall, James Hodgson (Applied Health); Jian Zhong (University of Greenwich); Jacqueline Homan; Richard Rees; and Bethany Haskins-Vaheesan (WMCA); Jenny Stocker (Cambridge Environmental Research Consultants); Nick Pyatt (Climate Sense); Marianne Walker, Suzannah Wilson, Sophie Wilson, Elizabeth Goodchild (Birmingham Voluntary Service Council).