PATH addresses underlying development patterns and inequities that make people, and disproportionally make marginalised people, more vulnerable to the impacts and risks of climate change.
Climate change will mean more people on the move as extreme weather threatens lives, destroys property and ruins livelihoods.
For most people, this means moving from the countryside to the city. Some will change their local mobility patterns, or take up seasonal migration to find work elsewhere. Others may choose to stay and adapt to the changing conditions. Climate mobilities is a term used to describe these diverse migration responses to climate impacts.
Our research project works to support city and municipal councils in preparing for diverse climate mobilities.
City mayors are considering how to invest in infrastructure and city planning for climate-related migration. But unless the actions they take are driven by the priorities of the most affected, they may end up making things worse for people.
Our research focuses on what a desirable future home and neighbourhood would look like from the perspective of those on the move and the communities that host them.
Traditionally, this kind of information has been difficult for planners and policymakers to include in their existing decision-making structures.
This is why a key part of our project is to understand how to weave the information we gain from the precariously housed into the metrics and indicators that governments would be more familiar with.
In this way, our research provides entry points for policymakers to carry out more transformational projects that address underlying poverty and inequality.
The PATH project will aim to include precarious housing insights into climate adaptation planning.
Our research takes place in four locations, investigating different climate mobilities:
1. Highly climate change-exposed Inuit communities who do not want to leave
2. Rural climate-related migrants moving to Kathmandu in Nepal
3. People displaced by flooding in Durban, South Africa
4. International migrants in London, UK who fall through the cracks in the city’s adaptation actions
Our project explores how to include the information from the precariously housed into processes, metrics and indicators that governments use for planning and infrastructure development – providing new entry points for policymakers to carry out transformational projects that address underlying poverty and inequality.
The PATH project will involve research teams in Canada, the UK, South Africa and Nepal working with communities and local governments, including in partnership with the Inuit Niqivut Silalu Asijjipalliajuq project team.
Our project uses community-led and arts-based research methods that value and elevate the knowledge of people on the ground. PATH also engages local municipalities and regional and national governments to ensure that this kind of knowledge is incorporated into future adaptation planning.
Our research will address key climate adaptation risks while engaging with policymakers.
More people will be on the move as extreme weather due to climate change threatens lives, destroys property and ruins livelihoods. At the same time, others may choose to stay and adapt to the changing climate.
Representative Key Risks (RKRs) are a framework used by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to categorise risks that could become severe due to climate change. The PATH research project addresses several RKRs, including:
- Risks to peace and mobility
- Risks associated with critical physical infrastructure, networks, and services
- Risks to human health, including mental health
- Risks to living standards, specifically poverty and livelihoods, as well as the exacerbating effects of impacts on socioeconomic inequality between and within countries
Our project uses community-led and arts-based research methods that value and elevate the knowledge of people on the ground. PATH also engages local municipalities and regional and national governments to make sure that this kind of knowledge is incorporated into future adaptation planning.
Meet the Principal Investigator(s) for the project
Dr Shona Koren Paterson - Building on an academic transdisciplinary background in Natural Sciences (Marine Biology, Resource Management) and Social Sciences (Climate Adaptation, Social Justice, Environmental Policy), Shona’s guiding focus remains the generation and translation of defensible research informed by the needs of society and co-created with the intended beneficiaries. Her research is motivated by international frameworks such as the UN 2030 Agenda, the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, and the COP21 Paris Agreement. She has spent her working career building partnerships and knowledge exchange networks with local communities and stakeholders to achieve mutually beneficial social and ecological goals.
With a special interest in marginalised communities and social justice and equity, Shona’s recent research has focused on global flood risk and resilience, climate risk assessments, adaptation and adaptive capacity in urbanising coastal areas. Embracing a transdisciplinary approach, Shona works at the interface of science-policy as well as effective and fit-for-audience communication of data and knowledge to ensure increased impactful discourse around risk. She has research experience in the Caribbean, USA, UK and Ireland, as well as a global perspective through involvement with Future Earth and its associated global research project Future Earth Coasts.
Related Research Group(s)
Global Lives - Research conducted in the Centre addresses the challenges facing society, helping to change the lives of people around the world by bringing economic, social and cultural benefits.
Partnering with confidence
Organisations interested in our research can partner with us with confidence backed by an external and independent benchmark: The Knowledge Exchange Framework. Read more.
Project last modified 01/10/2024