Following the 2023 storms, Auckland Council has begun facilitating community-led recovery planning with our three priority communities, impacted communities and mana whenua.
But what is community-led recovery planning and why is it so important?
Community-led recovery planning is about looking to the future after an emergency event. It is a community-driven process, where communities work together and decide their aspirations for the future. They decide their key priorities and agree on next steps to make them happen.
“Community-led recovery planning is driven by the community, for the community. It’s future-focused and about creating a collective vision after a disaster. It considers immediate priorities such as housing, roading and readiness for future events, alongside longer-term resilience and the impacts of climate change,” says Recovery Office Community and Social Recovery Lead, Linda Greenalgh.
“National and international research shows that communities who have a high degree of self-determination and who contribute actively to the planning and implementation of recovery activities, recover better and become more resilient.”
Community-led recovery plans are a key outcome of the Tāmaki Makaurau Recovery Plan.
Because the impacts of the extreme weather events are being felt very differently across the region, the planning is focusing on:
- Priority communities which were already disadvantaged prior to the events and are more likely to see further social vulnerability as a result. They are Henderson/Rānui, Māngere, and Mt Roskill/Wesley.
- Impacted communities in addition to the above communities, we will be supporting around 20 directly-impacted communities to develop recovery plans over the next six to 12 months.
- Mana whenua as they play a significant role in sustaining the region and region’s identity and have responsibilities and obligations as inherent kaitiaki (caretakers) to manaaki (show generosity to) those communities that reside within their tribal domains.
So what will be the council’s role?
The community themselves will lead the recovery planning process. Auckland Council’s role will be to support this planning, with a focus on building community capability, strengthening networks and communication, and enabling local leadership.
Once communities have identified their recovery aspirations, council will support them to implement their ideas and link them into opportunities with a focus on building their capacity.
