Complicating “community” engagement: Reckoning with an elusive concept in climate-related planned relocation

Abstract

As planned relocation becomes an increasingly utilized climate adaptation strategy, guidance for effective practice consistently emphasizes the importance of “community” engagement throughout relocation planning, decision-making, and implementation. Yet “community” is not a monolith operating in consensus, where engagement is achieved simply through the interaction of internal and external actors. To move beyond this binary paradigm where community engagement is a box to be checked, we offer a conceptual framework with three key questions for consideration for those operationalizing community engagement strategies in relocation policy and practice. 1) Who constitutes the community in planned relocation? 2) Who facilitates planned relocation? 3) What is meaningful community engagement? As part of this framework, we introduce the overlooked role of actors bridging community and facilitation worlds, here called intermediaries, and how they can enhance or hinder meaningful engagement. Finally, we explore novel approaches for researchers and practitioners to advance context-specific engagement before, during, and after climate-related relocation processes to promote genuine self-determination among those relocating.