Collecting data, building trust: Climate Resilience for Communities project advances in Izmir
Imagine a neighborhood facing regular flooding and heat waves, where residents know which streets become impassable, which houses and businesses suffer the worst damage, and which green spaces can be utilized during summer hot days. During one storm, neighbors come together to build temporary barriers and redirect water away from vulnerable homes, and install plastic sheets to protect their roofs On the hottest days, families without air conditioning and limited access to public spaces, gather outdoors in cooler spots they’ve identified over the years, at times leveraging creative solutions like homemade sun shelters to best support each other and mitigate the impact of rising temperatures.
When projects like the Climate Resilience for Communities (CRC) initiative take the time to listen to these stories, they turn local communities’ traditional practices into effective, long-term, resilient and sustainable solutions.
Led by the Z Zurich Foundation and supported by ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability, Zurich Insurance Group Türkiye, and the Izmir Metropolitan Municipality, the CRC project in Izmir aims to harness this local knowledge through direct engagement and data collection, ensuring that resilience-building efforts truly reflect the realities faced by the city’s most at-risk neighborhoods.
The project relies on a tool developed by the Zurich Foundation called Climate Resilience Measurement for Communities (CRMC) tool. It is a practical system designed to help communities assess how well they can handle climate challenges like floods or heat waves. It collects data on aspects like health, education, and infrastructure, and then highlights strengths and areas where improvements are needed.
In September 2024, community members, local officials, and international partners came together in Izmir for a crucial four-day visit. The visit aimed to understand the unique challenges faced by the city’s most vulnerable residents through in-depth conversations with local leaders and hands-on data collection in the streets of Pazaryeri and İmariye.
“Our local communities possess valuable insights about the challenges they encounter daily. This visit enabled us to access that knowledge firsthand, ensuring our solutions are guided by both data and the real-life experiences of residents. With this understanding, local governments can develop more effective strategies to strengthen resilience at the community level,” said Dr. Çağlar Tükel, Engineer and Project Lead, City of Izmir.
The visit is the first out of three stages of the project’s approach:
- Baseline study: Data collection and analysis to understand the current resilience levels of the two neighborhoods, setting the foundation for targeted interventions.
- Design and implementation of resilience strategies: Using insights from the baseline study, this stage focuses on implementing tailored actions to improve resilience against climate-related challenges.
- Impact measurement: A follow-up assessment to evaluate the effectiveness of the interventions and identify areas for further improvement.
Over 200 household surveys commenced in the selected neighborhoods of Pazaryeri and İmariye. Project volunteers moved door-to-door, engaging with residents to gather valuable data on their socio-economic and physical vulnerabilities, as well as perceptions of climate challenges. Meanwhile, focus groups involving local leaders provided additional insights into community needs. Over ten local leaders from various NGOs working with the vulnerable groups living in the communities -such as women, immigrants, and youth- and neighborhood representatives were invited to respond to the CRMC tool questions and help us better define the socio-economic and physical vulnerabilities of the two communities. On the third day, local business owners too were interviewed to gather input for the survey. The final day wrapped up data collection efforts, concluding with a debrief session where stakeholders reflected on the progress and discussed the next steps, setting the stage for the analysis and strategy design phase.
World Cleanup Day
During the visit, Zurich Insurance Group Türkiye hosted a parallel event for World Cleanup Day in one of the neighborhoods identified as vulnerable. Armed with gloves and bin bags, nine Zurich
volunteers and 10 local children began a community clean-up, which soon grew to include 21 children from the neighborhood. This activity not only helped clean the area but also fostered environmental awareness among the young participants, concluding with a celebration.
According to Didem Yamac, Social Impact and Sustainability Coordinator at Zurich Insurance Group Türkiye, “Our time in Izmir was about more than just gathering data: It was about building connections and understanding the needs of the neighborhoods. The dedication of our volunteers and energy of the children, especially during the World Cleanup Day event, reinforced our commitment to making a tangible difference together.”
The visit was a critical step in advancing the CRC project’s objectives. It brought together diverse stakeholders and local residents, ensuring that community voices were central to the project’s implementation. Focusing on data-driven planning and fostering local collaboration is not only a process that benefits the neighborhoods in Izmir; it also serves as a model for other cities facing similar climate challenges.
