Potentials of Community-Based Initiatives in Promoting Urban Resilience to Heatwave: Lessons from Slum Communities of Rajshahi City

Md. Shakil Ar Salan, Md. Mostafizur Rahman · 10.63414/jeas.v9.n1.2025.38

Abstract

This study looks at how community-based initiatives might help slum areas of Rajshahi City Corporation, Bangladesh-a region especially vulnerable to extreme heat from fast urbanization, poor infrastructure, and socioeconomic inequalities, promote urban resilience to heatwaves. This study used a mixed-methods approach. Slum dwellers' current coping strategies were determined using quantitative data from 378 households questionnaire survey. ATLAS.ti 25 software was used to analyze qualitative data collected from 6 key informant interviews in order to pinpoint the obstacles and potential areas of intervention for urban heat adaptation. The common coping mechanisms among slum dwellers are turning on fans, controlling ventilation, showering more often, and modifying daily activities. Among the most important adaptive behaviours highlighted by Principal Component Analysis are "turning on fans" and "ventilation management". Income and education levels, however, greatly restrict the efficacy of these approaches; lower-income and less educated households suffer more from limited access to cooling resources and inadequate housing. The study emphasizes the need of combined interventions improving access to inclusive urban planning, cooling, and community-led adaptation-to solve these vulnerabilities.

Conclusion

Particularly in economically underprivileged groups, this study shows that community-based initiatives are central to enhancing resilience against heatwaves in informal urban settlements. Predominant coping strategies—such as the collective use of low-cost measures like fans, improved ventilation, and adjusted daily routines—demonstrate the community’s capacity to mobilize local assets and knowledge in response to extreme heat. However, the study also highlights that adaptive capacity remains uneven, with lower-income and less-educated households facing greater barriers, underscoring the importance of equity and social capital emphasized in community resilience theory. Initiatives such as greening projects and resilience hubs not only reduce physical exposure to heat but also strengthen social cohesion and participatory governance, aligning with theoretical perspectives that prioritize collective action and social infrastructure as pillars of resilience. Finally, the findings underscore that institutional support and multi-level governance are essential to sustain and scale community-led adaptation, reflecting the dynamic, systems-based approach at the heart of community resilience frameworks. The study also emphasizes important difficulties that underprivileged urban populations experience, including limited access to cooling resources, poor housing conditions, and inadequate social support, which taken together impede good heatwave adaptation. These results coincide with current research pointing out that heat vulnerability in urban environments is mostly determined by socioeconomic levels [36]. Moreover, because of lower green cover and higher surface temperatures, the urban heat island effect increases exposure for low-income neighbourhoods, so aggravating health risks and energy loads. Crucially, the study points up particular areas where regional planning and governance can step in to support efforts at community adaptation. Resilience can be much enhanced by giving access to cooling facilities top priority, including heat mitigating into urban design, and implementing inclusive policies. It is absolutely vital to create thorough heat action plans including long-term adaptation strategies and vulnerability assessments including long-term adaptation measures. To remove systematic obstacles experienced by the urban poor, policies supporting information distribution, incentives for heat mitigating, community-led adaptation planning, and legislative support are absolutely necessary. This is consistent with models supporting multi-level governance strategies combining community involvement, fair resource allocation, and infrastructure upgrades to increase urban climate resilience [37- 39]. Visited through the Sankey diagram in this study, the intersectionality of challenges and interventions emphasizes the need of coordinated, multi-dimensional strategies combining governance, spatial planning, community empowerment, and financial support. Apart from guaranteeing local relevance and inclusivity, community-based approaches help to improve social cohesiveness and knowledge sharing, which are essential for ongoing adaptation. These results align with resilience theory stressing the part social capital and participatory governance play in urban climate adaptation [40]. Finally, this study supports the fact that, especially in vulnerable groups, community-based projects are absolutely essential for fostering urban resilience against heatwaves. Targeted interventions, inclusive governance, and integrated urban planning help to address socioeconomic inequalities, so improving the adaptive capacity of underprivileged areas. Scaling participatory, context-specific adaptation strategies that synergize technological, ecological, and social dimensions to build sustainable and fair heat-resilient cities should be the main emphasis of future research and policy. Particularly in economically underprivileged groups, this study shows that community-based initiatives are central to enhancing resilience against heatwaves in informal urban settlements. Predominant coping strategies—such as the collective use of low-cost measures like fans, improved ventilation, and adjusted daily routines—demonstrate the community’s capacity to mobilize local assets and knowledge in response to extreme heat. However, the study also highlights that adaptive capacity remains uneven, with lower-income and less-educated households facing greater barriers, underscoring the importance of equity and social capital emphasized in community resilience theory. Initiatives such as greening projects and resilience hubs not only reduce physical exposure to heat but also strengthen social cohesion and participatory governance, aligning with theoretical perspectives that prioritize collective action and social infrastructure as pillars of resilience. Finally, the findings underscore that institutional support and multi-level governance are essential to sustain and scale community-led adaptation, reflecting the dynamic, systems-based approach at the heart of community resilience frameworks. The study also emphasizes important difficulties that underprivileged urban populations experience, including limited access to cooling resources, poor housing conditions, and inadequate social support, which taken together impede good heatwave adaptation. These results coincide with current research pointing out that heat vulnerability in urban environments is mostly determined by socioeconomic levels [36]. Moreover, because of lower green cover and higher surface temperatures, the urban heat island effect increases exposure for low-income neighbourhoods, so aggravating health risks and energy loads. Crucially, the study points up particular areas where regional planning and governance can step in to support efforts at community adaptation. Resilience can be much enhanced by giving access to cooling facilities top priority, including heat mitigating into urban design, and implementing inclusive policies. It is absolutely vital to create thorough heat action plans including long-term adaptation strategies and vulnerability assessments including long-term adaptation measures. To remove systematic obstacles experienced by the urban poor, policies supporting information distribution, incentives for heat mitigating, community-led adaptation planning, and legislative support are absolutely necessary. This is consistent with models supporting multi-level governance strategies combining community involvement, fair resource allocation, and infrastructure upgrades to increase urban climate resilience [37- 39]. Visited through the Sankey diagram in this study, the intersectionality of challenges and interventions emphasizes the need of coordinated, multi-dimensional strategies combining governance, spatial planning, community empowerment, and financial support. Apart from guaranteeing local relevance and inclusivity, community-based approaches help to improve social cohesiveness and knowledge sharing, which are essential for ongoing adaptation. These results align with resilience theory stressing the part social capital and participatory governance play in urban climate adaptation [40]. Finally, this study supports the fact that, especially in vulnerable groups, community-based projects are absolutely essential for fostering urban resilience against heatwaves. Targeted interventions, inclusive governance, and integrated urban planning help to address socioeconomic inequalities, so improving the adaptive capacity of underprivileged areas. Scaling participatory, context-specific adaptation strategies that synergize technological, ecological, and social dimensions to build sustainable and fair heat-resilient cities should be the main emphasis of future research and policy.

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