Course Syllabus

PLANNING for RESILIENCE in STOCKPORT, GREATER MANCHESTER

Greater Manchester is a city region in the Northwest of England. It encompasses ten metropolitan boroughs with a combined population of 2.8 million residents. It is administered by the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA), made up of the ten Greater Manchester Councils and the Mayor.

Greater Manchester is a region of industrial innovation. Served by its network of small canal systems and the Manchester Ship Canal, the region was home to industrial revolution and experienced a large population growth in the 19^th century. With the significant decline in manufacturing in the late 20^th century, the region experienced socio-economic and spatial changes. In some boroughs of Greater Manchester, regeneration occurred through shifting into “digital and creative” fields that led to the cluster of MediaCity UK and research hubs. Other boroughs and communities which could not revive following the decline of manufacturing were left deprived.

In addition to socio-economic vulnerabilities, Greater Manchester region is also prone to floods and extreme weather events, such as heat waves. The rivers and canals that led to the growth of Greater Manchester are now creating a risk to the city with flooding hazards.

This studio will work in one of the most deprived and hazard prone communities in the Greater Manchester region. Located in the borough of Stockport, the suburban town of Edgeley is home to 15,00O people. It was a small village that grew rapidly in the 19^th century with the expansion of the railway network. Industrial growth brought an influx of people to the area and led to the development of Victorian terraced houses. Undergoing a severe socio-economic decline in the last few decades, today, the suburban town is experiencing rapid change with regeneration projects marketed for more affluent populations due to its proximity to Manchester City.

The client of this studio is the Stockport Council, in collaboration with the Resilient Cities Network. The Stockport Council desires to increase the social capital of Edgeley in recognition of the rapidly changing demographics of the neighboring areas, as well as improve its natural capital to help build resilience to the future climate risks. The Studio will aim to develop overall community resilience to hazards in Edgeley, Stockport while taking into consideration its historical underpinnings, socio-economic context, and relation with the Greater Manchester region and the neighboring towns.

STUDIO CLIENT and PARTNERS

The Studio will effectively collaborate with the Resilient Cities Network, the Greater Manchester Authority and its Chief Resilience Officer, and the Stockport Council.

The Greater Manchester region, and specifically Stockport, is selected as one of the 11 cities, which the Resilient Cities Network is currently working on as part of its Resilience for Communities program funded by the Zurich Foundation. As part of this program, the studio outcomes will be presented to the community and will have a chance to be implemented.  

The studio will also not only have a chance to partner with local community organizations, but also academic organizations in the region, such as the University of Huddersfield’s Global Disaster Resilience Center.

STUDIO PURPOSE and PROGRAM:

The purpose of the Urban Planning Studio is to explore opportunities for building community resilience to climatological hazards in Stokport, Greater Manchester, while taking into consideration its historical underpinnings, socio-economic context, and relation with the Greater Manchester region.

The Studio Program will be built upon to respond to this purpose.

The program will start with Phase I: Context Investigation that will explore the City of Stockport in the Greater Manchester understanding its challenges as well as opportunities through an investigation of its historical development, urban context, socio-economic processes, environmental and climate trends, and governance and decision-making as well as considering both stresses and shocks in the City and the Greater Manchester through a systems-thinking approach.

At this stage, the investigations will make use of both secondary data as well as interviews with the Client and other stakeholders as possible.

The investigations in this phase will lead to preliminary proposals which will be presented in the Mid-term and during the field visit to Greater Manchester.

The studio program will continue with Phase II: Field Investigation in Stockport, Greater Manchester, which will aim to study the feasibility of the preliminary proposals through verification with stakeholders and on-site field research.

Upon returning from field-trip, the Studio will revisit its preliminary proposals and start Phase III:  Final Proposal Development. In this stage, proposals will be refined with input from field investigation and data collection and additional first-hand research such as interviews with stakeholders as needed.