From Participation to Power: Locally Led Adaptation as a Bottom-Up Strategy for Building Climate Resilience in Informal Settlements

IntroductionInformal settlements across the Global South are increasingly vulnerable to climate change due to rapid urbanisation, inadequate infrastructure and limited inclusion in formal planning processes. Although community participation is widely promoted in climate adaptation, participation alone does not necessarily translate into meaningful influence over planning and resource allocation. This study examines how locally led adaptation can enable communities to move from participation towards decision-making power in informal settlements.Materials and MethodsA comparative qualitative case study was undertaken in Cowdray Park and Ngozi Mine, Zimbabwe. The study drew upon community settlement profiles, household enumeration, participatory mapping, documentary evidence and relevant literature produced through community-led initiatives involving the Zimbabwe Homeless People's Federation (ZHPF) and the Zimbabwe Young People's Federation (ZYPF). Data were analysed thematically to identify the processes through which community-generated evidence contributes to locally led adaptation and governance.ResultsThe findings demonstrate that profiling, household enumeration and participatory mapping generate credible community-owned evidence that improves the visibility of informal settlements and strengthens engagement with local authorities and development partners. The study proposes a Participation-to-Power Framework comprising five interconnected stages: participation, knowledge generation, collective priority-setting, institutional engagement and decision-making influence. While community-generated evidence enhanced negotiation capacity and supported locally identified adaptation priorities, meaningful influence remained dependent on institutional willingness to recognise and incorporate community knowledge into planning and resource allocation.ConclusionLocally led adaptation extends beyond participation by strengthening community agency, recognition and influence within climate governance. The proposed Participation-to-Power Framework provides a practical and transferable model for understanding how community-generated knowledge can support equitable climate adaptation in informal settlements. The findings contribute to growing international debates on inclusive climate governance by demonstrating that resilience depends not only on technical interventions but also on the redistribution of decision-making power.