By Dr Gemma Sou and Ms Clare Steele.
We’re told ever-hotter summers are inevitable. What’s less discussed is that Britain’s ability to cope has been systematically dismantled — not by the climate itself, but by 15 years of austerity.
The UK has just endured its fourth heatwave of 2025. In Manchester’s Aikenhead neighbourhood[1], pavements shimmered in the heat, bus shelters became sweltering glass boxes, and people retreated behind drawn curtains. We’re told ever-hotter summers are inevitable.
During our five months of fieldwork in Aikenhead, we saw first-hand how budget cuts have hollowed out the everyday infrastructures that can protect people from heat stress. The result? Communities — particularly low-income ones must “grin and bear it” with fewer options to cool down, putting them at greater risk of heat stress.
Living with ‘low-value’ climate adaptation
On hot days, most people we spoke to relied on low-cost, short-term fixes or what they called “common sense” behaviours e.g. drinking more water, sleeping with windows open, taking cold showers, avoiding using the oven.
These are stopgaps, used once heat becomes uncomfortable. Very few take anticipatory measures like investing in blackout blinds or improved home insulation. The reasons are clear. Many have limited cash even for essentials — “You choose between paying the electric or having the fan on,” one man told us. Others see extreme heat as an occasional, temporary nuisance. As one woman noted, “Air conditioning could be an idea, but we don’t have enough heatwaves to justify it”.
This mindset has been called low ‘value adaptation’, combining tight finances with an optimism that heatwaves will pass quickly. It’s an attitude that becomes dangerous in a context of increasing heatwaves and austerity governance.
Austerity’s attack on everyday cooling infrastructures
In Aikenhead, even if residents wanted to escape the heat, their options have shrunk because austerity has eroded the everyday infrastructures that support heat adaptation.
- Libraries serve as ‘cooling spaces’ in many places across the world. But in Aikenhead, one library closed entirely; another slashed its hours. That’s not unusual in the UK, where nearly 800 libraries have shut since 2010.
- Swimming pools can allow people to cool off. Yet, across England, almost 400 pools have been drained, with closures hitting hardest in deprived areas. “We’d like to go swimming when it’s really hot,” said one man, “but they’ve shut the baths or put the prices up”
- Parks can have temperatures significantly lower than their surroundings. However, maintenance budgets were cut by 25% in Manchester, forcing park authorities to create their own revenues by hosting ticketed tourist attractions or increasing café prices, which prevent some from using the park during hot weather.
- Public drinking fountains are essential during extreme heat, but Manchester (and the UK) has some of the fewest public drinking fountains per population across Europe – a meagre 0.07 per 100,000 people. And councils have removed many because of the cost of maintenance as well as health risks and damage, similar to municipal disinvestment across the UK.
- Rivers and lakes can help one to keep cool, but the regulatory and monitoring regime of the private water sector has been dismantled through austerity, opening space for water companies to discharge untreated sewage directly into waterways making a dip on a hot day unsafe and highly unappealing. “You’re not catching me swimming in that — it’s disgusting,” said one woman.
- Green shade canopy and street furniture, e.g.. benches, bus shelters and shaded seating offer respite from extreme temperatures. But in deprived areas like Aikenhead, access remains disproportionately low and austerity-driven budget constraints have deprioritized such investments in Manchester.
The cost-of-living crisis compounds everything. Even basic measures for heat relief— fans, cool showers, trips to air-conditioned cafes and cinemas — are out of reach for many who are struggling with low incomes and soaring energy bills. “Bills have gone through the roof” said one woman.
For those on low incomes, the reality is stark: as austerity has eroded everyday infrastructures public cooling options are disappearing, and private ones become less affordable, leaving people more exposed and more vulnerable to heat stress.
Reframing Everyday Infrastructure as Climate Defence
Austerity has treated everyday infrastructures like libraries, parks, pools, drinking fountains, clean rivers and lakes as “nice-to-have” extras. Our research shows they are in fact essential front-line climate adaptation systems for keeping people safe in the heat. Restoring and expanding them isn’t just a social luxury; it’s a public health necessity. Suggestions for improvement include:
- Reopening and extending hours for libraries and pools during hot spells.
- Subsidising travel to — and entry for — public cooling spaces such as swimming pools and cinemas.
- Planting and maintaining physical and green shade infrastructures.
- Installing more free drinking fountains.
- Cleaning waterways and restoring the regulatory and monitoring regime of the private water sector.
- Ensuring parks are accessible for all.
Manchester’s story mirrors cities across the UK and beyond. Austerity is not a neutral accounting exercise. It is a political choice that has made certain communities feel — quite literally — the heat. In Aikenhead, one woman put it plainly: “It’s just a few days, so you get on with it.” That stoicism is admirable, but it masks a bigger truth: coping individually only works until the extremes overwhelm us. If councils and governments don’t act now to rebuild the everyday infrastructures of our cities, the next record-breaking summer will expose just how much those “few days” can cost.
To read more about this research see: Sou, G., & Steele, C. (2025). Climate adaptation under austerity: Declining everyday infrastructures amid extreme heat. Geoforum, 165, 104369.
[1] We have used a pseudonym to ensure the anonymity of participants.