The Economics and Financing of Resilient Urban Infrastructure

The UK government has launched its industrial strategy, which sets out a long-term plan to improve the productivity of British industries and enhance the earning power of the population (HM Government, 2017b). One of its five main pillars is the undertaking of a major upgrade of the UK's infrastructure. Focusing on infrastructure is essential, since it has been recognised that the existing UK's infrastructure rates poorly compared to that of other advanced economies (HM Government, 2017a). Poor infrastructure affects the productivity and competitiveness of businesses and industries in the UK, while it increases the risks of adverse economic and social impacts due to extreme weather events, such as flooding. Flooding has been identified as the major climate change risk faced by communities, businesses and infrastructure in the UK (CCC, 2017). In recent years, the UK has been impacted by several extreme flood events. For instance, the 2013/14 and 2015/16 winter floods caused severe disruptions in transport, provision of basic services (water, electricity, telecommunications), causing severe losses to households and businesses (Chatterton et al., 2016; Sakai et al., 2016). Climate projections for the UK point out future increases in flood risk (DEFRA, 2013; CCC, 2017). There is, in this sense, a genuine and urgent need among UK industries and businesses to upgrade the existing infrastructure in order to protect them against these risks, improve productivity and build climate resilience. The government has committed to enhance infrastructure at risk, especially flood defences (DEFRA, 2014). However, issues relating to the economics and financing are under-addressed. This is especially the case at the urban scale, where cities could invest in a wide range of resilience options, but frequently lack the economic evidence base and the financing arrangements that might enable them to do so. In this sense, several questions arise. What resilient infrastructure options available to cities are the most adequate and sustainable? What are the most cost-effective options? What options can deliver the greater co-benefits (e.g. economic, social, environmental)? How could infrastructure options be delivered and financed? These queries reveal a research and policy gap that this fellowship aims to address. The overall objective of this fellowship is thus to develop the economic case for investing in resilient urban infrastructure at a city scale, exploring the synergies between disaster risk reduction and improvements in productivity, economic growth, employment, environmental quality, and human well-being. This research will focus on the Leeds city area, which is a relevant case study since it has been affected by extreme flooding in the past, seeking to draw lessons that can be applied more broadly to other cities in the UK and abroad. The fellowship will be based on close collaborations with Arup, as well as with other public bodies including the Environment Agency and Leeds City Council. It will also be directly aligned with the Leeds Climate Commission (leeds.candocities.org), a city-wide collaboration of 24 key organisations established to promote investment in low carbon and climate resilient development within the city of Leeds. The fellowship will also link to existing research projects and centres, like the Centre for Climate Change Economics and Policy, Water@Leeds, the Yorkshire Integrated Catchment Solutions Programme, the EU funded project ThinkNature (which involves various academic organisations across the EU) and the Climate Change Adaptation Group of the University of Leeds. Working closely with these partners and organisations will ensure strong stakeholder engagement along all the stages of the fellowship in order to in order to maximise policy uptake, increase climate resilience and the economic productivity of UK industries, and produce a positive impact in the lives of the UK cities' inhabitants, and beyond.