'Testing the Waters: Participatory Approaches for Resilience of Coastal Environments': RGS-IBG Annual International Conference 2024

Description
This workshop will investigate participatory approaches for building resilience of coastal environments. Current planning and management in coastal areas seek to ‘reconnect’ and ‘revitalise’ seaside spaces but focus on top-down approaches. Less explored, however, is how these planning and development processes can support a “sense of place”, particularly in spaces that are in marginalised communities. In fact, there is a current lack of models of public participation and engagement, particularly around involving such excluded communities in the future planning of deprived coastal neighbourhoods. We propose that creative and participatory methods are needed to explore new ways of engaging coastal communities for building inclusive and resilient coastal environments.

Workshop format:
The workshop will ‘test the waters’ by exploring an engagement methodology that addresses the challenges of working with coastal communities. We will invite participants to act as peers with an agency in bottom-up participatory methods using visual and creative contributions. The workshop will be followed by a chaired interactive discussion between collaborators and the audience to explore reflections, commonalities and divergences in themes and ideas around coastal resilience. This session will create a dynamic and experimental space for exploring ideas and interventions towards shaping alternative futures for coastal towns and cities and highlighting opportunities for future collaborations.