Flood resilience as a process : understanding the role of learning in the implementation of Green Infrastructure

Wang, Jingran and Markusson, Nils and Tyfield, David and Whyatt, Duncan (2025) Flood resilience as a process : understanding the role of learning in the implementation of Green Infrastructure. PhD thesis, Lancaster University.

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Abstract

This study explored how Green Infrastructure (GI) is implemented in the different contexts of China and England to enhance flood resilience, examining the learning of professionals in the process. Specifically, it investigated the challenges facing GI in both China and England, before unpacking how professionals operate in the face of predicaments, what their learning outcomes are, and whether the outcomes advance flood resilience. By addressing the under-researched roles of professionals in the context of GI and flood resilience, it sheds light on the nuanced power dynamics amid the actors’ operation in the distinct social and political contexts. The central role of learning is highlighted, not only in enhancing resilience but also in facilitating the socio-technical transition embodied by the application of GI. The research employed a qualitative approach: semi-structured interviews were conducted with professionals from the two countries who have knowledge of GI, aiming to gain an in-depth understanding of their perspectives; whereas documents from online sources, such as media reports and interviews, were also collected and examined using Foucauldian discourse analysis, to generate more insights into experts’ operations in China’s context. Although GI projects in both countries face some shared challenges, such as a lack of quantitative data for measuring the performance, the research study found that most challenges are specific to the contexts in which the projects are delivered. The ways that professionals respond to, and rise above the predicaments, indicate their situated wisdom derived from learning and embody the essence of evolutionary resilience. This research study formulated diagrams to capture the various ways of learning and learning outcomes, showcasing how learning can enhance flood resilience through improved preparedness, adaptability and transformability. Meanwhile, non-learning scenarios including resistance, tensions, and learning failures were also mapped to illustrate how these seemingly unrelated elements are indeed interconnected, and in some cases, contribute to advancing resilience. Hereby, the research offers the conceptualisation of self-reinforcing learning loops in the context of implementing GI, demonstrating that flood resilience is fundamentally a process of constant learning.