Helping cities to govern flood risk. A comparative case study to identify the barriers and enablers imposed by national policy

Abstract

This research will compare the various components of the capacity to address flood risk in Milton Keynes and Rotterdam. Both cities are prone to flooding, share similar urban infrastructures and have active city councils which promote sustainability and innovation. However, both cities have very different geological features and operate within their unique national context. Although this research acknowledges the importance of the geological, economical and sociological context on flooding and flood risk management, this study will focus on the policy (context) frame and the influence it has on managing flood risks. This research tries to answer the following question: To what extent do European, national and regional policy frames enable cities to improve their capacity to govern flood risk challenges in the UK and the Netherlands, if necessary? This research will comprise both a desk study and empirical field work. The Governance capacity framework will be applied to both cities and will complement the applied methodology. Interviews were conducted in both cities with experts and officials; policy documents were analysed in order to verify the outcome of these interviews. Finally, the policy frame will be analysed for both cities and its influence on the governance capacities will be assessed. This study has shown that the policy frame does have an impact on cities to govern their flood risk and has provided new insights which can help cities to better govern their flood risk. The extent to which European, national and regional policies influence the capacity of cities to govern their flood risk has become more apparent. Imposed policies have enabled cities in both cases to improve their capacity to govern flood risk and freedom to manoeuvre inside these frames exists and freedom to improve most governance capacity remains at the local level. These findings will bridge the existing knowledge gap in the scientific literature and can help cities become more resilient to flood risks in the future.