M. Sc. Marwin Detzner

Engagement and volunteering in rural areas - opportunities and challenges in activating and sensitizing residents of rural areas in relation to the climate resilience of low mountain villages

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Problem definition

The heatwave summers of 2003 and 2018 made it clear that extreme heat phenomena are no longer an exception in Central European latitudes and that the trend points to an increase in the quality and quantity of extreme weather events. In the future in particular, Germany and its inhabitants, natural environment, economy, infrastructure and building structure will have to learn to counter this development with suitable climate resilience measures.

It is often observed that problems and challenges facing society as a whole, such as climate change, are discussed much more in relation to urban areas, while rural areas (in low mountain regions) are given comparatively little consideration. However, it is precisely these areas that are already frequently affected by phenomena such as demographic change, the associated population shrinkage, the exodus of young people and shrinking economic output, which is also reflected in fiscal budgets and the appearance of towns and landscapes - creating a downward spiral. The interplay of these factors exacerbates the vulnerability of the affected communities and their inhabitants. The question of innovative approaches that maintain or strengthen the functionality of these areas, including the quality of life for residents, is becoming increasingly important.

In view of this problem, the issue of private involvement in rural areas is also becoming increasingly important, and politicians in particular are pinning their hopes on civic involvement.

Research questions

Which climate change-related (weather) events are occurring in the study area and which can be expected in the future?
How do residents perceive climate developments and how are they personally affected?
What measures are effective in strengthening the climate resilience of buildings and properties in the study area?
What conditions enable and promote engagement in the study area?

Procedure

Several municipalities from the Greiz district in Thuringia, the Vogtland district in Saxony and the Burgenland district in Saxony-Anhalt were selected as the study area. In addition to rurality, the occurrence of heat and/or flood events was selected as a prerequisite. For this purpose, a community-specific research is first carried out, which, in addition to the heat and flood events, also takes into account the climatic development, property size and condition, building age and condition, construction method, age and income structure of the residents and the proportion of homeowners. To answer the second and third research questions, a sequential multi-method design based on the preliminary study model was chosen. Following the research, a qualitative preliminary study was conducted in the form of narrative expert interviews, and the results of the research were incorporated into the survey. Representatives from the regional management, the building administration, local heritage and village beautification associations, the municipality and others will be interviewed. This explorative step serves to fill gaps in knowledge and to formulate hypotheses.

The answer to the third research question is based on qualitative expert interviews with, for example, architects and building experts, while the specific research design for the fourth research question is heavily dependent on the results of the previous research questions.

Aim of the work

The aim of the thesis is to identify possible courses of action and measures to increase climate resilience in the study areas through engagement and volunteering. The basic prerequisite for becoming active is the perception of one's own involvement. Furthermore, the framework conditions under which engagement takes place are of central importance - what promotes or hinders it? At this point, it is important to clarify the challenges and opportunities of volunteering and which measures have the potential for effective application.