Principal Investigator
Communities in Crisis
A Connected Communities scoping study examining how communities develop self-reliance, resilience, and empowerment in times of crisis, situated within the 'triple crunch' of financial collapse, climate change, and resource depletion.
Impact
Mapped innovative community responses to UK austerity cuts, identifying how crisis simultaneously intensifies pressures and spurs alternative models of resource management and mutual aid.
Conducted in 2011 as part of the AHRC/ESRC Connected Communities programme, this scoping study examined how communities build capacity in the face of compounding crises: financial collapse, climate change, and resource depletion.
The research centred on three interconnected concepts: resilience (the capacity of a system to absorb disturbance while retaining function), self-help and mutual aid (accessing resources within local networks), and participation and empowerment (direct, community-centred democratic engagement).
By situating contemporary communities within the context of UK austerity cuts, the study revealed how external pressures simultaneously deepen community challenges and catalyse innovative social responses, alternative forms of ownership, and new approaches to resource management.
Co-investigators: Sara González, Stuart Hodkinson, Rachael Unsworth Duration: March–August 2011
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