Revisiting Flood Resilience: How Social–Ecological Interactions Shape Flood Risk Management Policy and Practice in Indonesia’s Riverbank Urban Slums

Flood-prone urban slums face rising climate risks, yet conventional flood management often fails to account for the social and ecological dynamics that shape resilience. This study examines how flood characteristics and social–ecological interactions influence flood risk management (FRM) in two Indonesian cities: Bima and Pontianak. Using an exploratory mixed-methods design, we combine hydrological and hydraulic modelling (HEC-HMS and HEC-RAS), household surveys, and 39 interviews with residents and local authorities. Cognitive mapping was used to visualize interaction networks and analyze their structural patterns. Findings show that local flood perceptions, shaped by lived experience rather than technical metrics, influence how communities assess and respond to flood risks. In some cases, these perceptions diverge from the heightened risk identified through modelling, particularly where frequent low-level inundation leads to risk normalization. In Bima, recent flash floods have generated collective urgency and coordinated early warnings, while in Pontianak, more gradual and shallow events foster individualized coping. These contrasting dynamics affect the coherence between community practices and formal planning. We argue that effective FRM must engage with local knowledge and its divergence from technical assessments to better support sustained resilience.