Reflexive co-production for urban resilience: Guiding framework and experiences from Austin, Texas

Abstract

The growing frequency and intensity of extreme weather events have placed cities at the forefront of the human, social, economic, and ecological impacts of climate change. Extreme heat, extended freeze, excessive precipitation, and/or prolong drought impacts neighborhoods disproportionately across heterogenous urban geographies. Underserved, underrepresented, and marginalized communities are more likely to bear the burden of increased exposure to adverse climate impacts while simultaneously facing power asymmetries in access to the policy and knowledge production process. Knowledge co-production is one framework that seeks to address this convergence of disproportionate climate impact exposure and disenfranchised communities. Co-production is increasingly used in sustainability and resilience research to ask questions and develop solutions with, by, and for those communities that are most impacted. By weaving research, planning, evaluation, and policy in an iterative cycle, knowledge and action can be more closely coupled. However, the practice of co-production often lacks reflexivity in ways that can transform the science and policy of urban resilience to address equity more directly. With this, we ask what kind of co-production mechanism encourage academic and non-academic partners to reflect and scrutinize their underlying assumptions, existing institutional arrangements, and practices? How can these efforts identify and acknowledge the contradictions of co-production to reduce climate impacts in vulnerable communities? This paper presents a framework for reflexive co-production and assesses three modes of co-production for urban resilience in Austin, Texas, USA. These include a multi-hazard risk mapping initiative, a resident-driven community indicator system for adaptive capacity, and a neighborhood household preparedness guide. We establish a set of functional and transformational criteria from which to evaluate co-production and assess each initiative across the criteria. We conclude with some recommendations that can advance reflexive co-production for urban resilience.

Co-Production for Equitable Governance in Community Climate Adaptation: Neighborhood Resilience in Houston, Texas

“…Empirical evaluations of initiatives such as Houston's NRP prove indispensable for understanding the complex role of co-production in nurturing cohesive, empowered, and sustainable communities. The study advocates a paradigm shift towards a transformative co-production approach that empowers marginalized communities and reimagines the interaction between science, policy, and practice in climate change mitigation (Bixler et al, 2022). The comparative analysis conducted herein has elucidated the significance of effective governance in enabling communities to undertake equitable climate action.…”

“…Effective climate adaptation demands equitable and intersectional planning that boosts adaptive capacity and confronts the deep-rooted injustices that influence societal dynamics (Bixler et al, 2022;Kirkby et al, 2018;Murray & Poland, 2020;Poland et al, 2021). These systemic inequities heighten climate vulnerabilities, making it imperative to incorporate social and demographic considerations into adaptation strategies (Hoffman et al, 2020).…”

“…For effective climate adaptation, resilience planning should facilitate participatory processes that promote genuine power-sharing and inclusivity in decision-making (Arnstein, 1969;Bixler et al, 2022;Fitzgibbons & Mitchell, 2019;Poland et al, 2021). An intersectional lens enriches the understanding of climate impacts and cultivates collaboration that challenges established power structures (Huybrechts et al, 2017;Teli et al, 2020;Turnhout et al, 2020).…”

“…However, an "implementation gap" persists at the municipal level (Wamsler, 2017), indicating a need for improved integration of transdisciplinary approaches into climate strategies. Enhanced by expert and policy support, ground-up institution-building can deepen participation and strengthen adaptive bases (Bixler et al, 2022;Huybrechts et al, 2017).…”

Research to Confront Climate Change Complexity: Intersectionality, Integration, and Innovative Governance

“…• Developing strategies for addressing "acute-onchronic" environmental hazards with marginalized communities, focusing on leading with local knowledge (Bixler et al, 2022;Lieberknecht, 2023). • Texas Target Communities, a regional boundary organization (Texas A&M University, 2022), and the Flood Coordination Study (Selvaratnam et al, 2023) each contribute to knowledge cogeneration and co-designed solutions.…”