Mobilising Adaptation: Community Knowledge and Urban Governance Innovations in Indore, India

This chapter chronicles the emergence and subsequent reconstitution of community-level institutions for climate adaptation during and after Asian Cities Climate Change Resilience Network (ACCCRN) engagement in Indore. This chapter focuses on the emerging role of community-level knowledge for implementing adaptation projects on the ground. Prior to the emergence of climate adaptation as an agenda, however, development policies across Indian cities focused on poverty alleviation, governance reform, economic growth and environmental quality. In Indore, since the early 1980s, different international and multilateral organisations have been supporting these priorities. For many of Indore's urban poor, climate change puts additional stresses on their already limited access to reliable freshwater wells and pipelines. Crucially, throughout Indore's climate adaptation planning process, the municipal authority has not directly funded any climate change projects in the city. Many community-based adaptation (CBA) projects in Indore have facilitated a renewed local focus on water conservation and protection as critical urban development priorities.