Adaptation strategies and community participation in government-led mitigation projects: A comparison between urban and suburban communities in Pekalongan, Indonesia

Governments often take a top-down approach in their mitigation projects to deal with the risks of climate change in coastal areas. However, community participation may increase the effectiveness of a mitigation project. Places whose community has a different nature of place/social attachment can have a different community likelihood of participating in social activities, particularly its community-led adaptation strategies and involvement in government-led mitigation projects. Therefore, this research article explores the differences between how an urban community and a suburban community implement adaptation strategies and participate in government-led mitigation projects. We conducted a questionnaire survey to collect data from 100 urban and 100 suburban residents. The results were analyzed using descriptive statistics and corroborated by five key informants. The results indicate that the suburban community was more likely to implement community-led adaptation strategies due to its willingness to participate in social activities. The suburban community also had more significant participation in government-led mitigation projects and then positively affected the outcomes of the projects. Other factors like the role of villages' heads and the existence of facilitators also influenced the local community to participate in the projects. This study suggests that more significant community participation might increase the sense of belonging of the local community in government-led mitigation projects. Therefore, the local community would have a stronger willingness to maintain and contribute to the sustainability of the projects' results.