Ebbsfleet Learning and Action Alliance

Vision

As an area develops, it can become a blue-green city if water management and urban greening are woven into its design.

The flow of rainwater through the system is managed by mimicking natural processes, including interception, attenuation, evapotranspiration, infitration and storage.  When combined, these processes create resilience to flood risk and other hazards related to climate change, while realising significant positive benefits in other areas, including health, biodiversity, recreation, urban cooling, education, economic activity and development.

By creating the Ebbsfleet LAA we aim to champion urban flood resilience through its vision of encouraging the realistic delivery of sustainable water management in the urban environment.

Launch meeting to plan the Ebbsfleet LAA and define its vision

Ebbsfleet Summit - a series of presentations by the Urban Flood Resilience research team on how work packages might support urban flood resilence in Ebbsfleet

• Urban Flood Resilience in an Uncertain Future (Colin Thorne, University of Nottingham)
• Ebbsfleet Landscapes (Simon Harrison, Ebbsfleet Development Corporation)
• Overcoming uncertainties and barriers to Blue-Green Infrastructure (Emily O’Donnell, University of Nottingham)
• Setting the planning and development context in England – research insights (Karen Potter, Open University)
• Perceptions, Challenges, and Opportunities around SuDs in Ebbsfleet (Leon Kapetas, University of Cambridge)
• Briefing on the Learning and Action Alliance and membership options (Emily O’Donnell, University of Nottingham) 

Discussions on the potential merits of using participatory modelling in Ebbsfleet

• Presentation on participatory modelling techniques by Shaun Maskrey (University of Nottingham)
• Discussion on LAA modelling objectives
• Discussion on potential of different techniques

System dynamics modelling workshop 1

• This workshop  involves a series of dicussions which helped to define the environmental 'problems' in Ebbsfleet that we wish to explore using a system dynamics model
• Five model dimensions were prioritised: water use, biodiversity, flood risk, water quality and quality of place
• For each of these dimensions, we then identified some metrics (measurable quantities) that help to tell use whether the problem is being solved, or getting worse

MEETING POSTPONED due to difficult weather conditions in SE England.

System dynamics modelling workshop 2

• This workshop will focus on identifying the variables that could be included in the model
• These will be generated by looking at each of the model dimensions (see above) in turn and deciding what causes change in these areas, as well as what are the effects when change occurs (in levels of residential water use, for example)
• This list of potential variables will then be reviewed by the research team, who will decide what it is feasible to model given time and resource constraints. The participants will be able to add in or take out variables in later sessions, as we start to build the model.

System dynamics modelling workshop 3

• This workshop will focus on creating a causal loop diagram and investigating the relationships between variables
• For each problem dimension the metric(s) that are most relevant will be selected and used to create a causal loop diagram that identifies the directions of influence between variables
• The resulting causal loop diagrams for the five probelm dimensions (water quality, quality of place, water use, biodiversity and flood risk management) will then be combined by the research team and presented at the next meeting (where the participants will be free to edit the diagram and start adding polarities)

System dynamics modelling workshop 4

• This workshop will focus on the causal loop diagram combining four problem dimensions; water qualiry, quality of place, water use and flood risk management
• The definition of the variables will be confirmed with the participants and variables removed/added where appropriate
• The linkages between variables will be discussed and polarities added
• A section of the causal loop diagram will be selected for more detailed analysis and conversion into a system dynamics model (this will be completed by the research team and presented at the next meeting)

System dynamics modelling workshop 5

• This workshop will focus on further developing the system dynamics model and validating the variables, links and equations. A draft system dynamics model has been created by the project researchers using the causal loop diagram produced by the group at the previous meeting
• System boundaries and inputs will be defined
• Data required to run the model will be discussed and possible sources will be identified
• Different scenarios under which to run the model will be discussed, focussing on how social and economic incentives may affect the outcomes from the model