Assessment of social vulnerability to climate change at the local scale: development and application of a Social Vulnerability Index

2017 ◽  
Vol 143 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 355-370 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cuong Viet Nguyen ◽  
Ralph Horne ◽  
John Fien ◽  
France Cheong
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Scale Development ◽  
Social Vulnerability ◽  
Vulnerability Index ◽  
Local Scale ◽  
Social Vulnerability Index ◽  
Vulnerability To Climate Change

scholarly journals Index Assessment of Household Social Vulnerability to Climate Change: A Case Study of Laguna Province, Philippines

2021 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 68-76
Author(s):  
Shota Kamiohkawa ◽  
Atsushi Maruyama ◽  
Inocencio Buot ◽  
Merites Buot ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Social Vulnerability ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Vulnerability Index ◽  
Probit Regression ◽  
Social Vulnerability Index ◽  
Personal Traits ◽  
Vulnerability To Climate Change ◽  
The Social ◽  
Vulnerable Households

This study empirically investigated the social vulnerability of two municipalities of Laguna Province, Philippines, on the impacts of natural disasters associated with climate change. Data were obtained from interviews with seventeen experts and surveys for thirty-seven households conducted in the two municipalities. The results of the index analysis, using the weight average method and ordered probit regression, can be summarized as follows: First, the characteristics of low educational attainment, low labor rate and lack of economic resources were crucial in determining the social vulnerability class of households. Second, the social vulnerability index is determined by multiple factors, and therefore, it should not be assessed by a single variable. Third, the weights for components of the vulnerability index were insignificantly affected by geographical features and the speciality and personal traits of the experts. This suggests that local governments should develop an information system that identifies socially vulnerable households and that this should be utilized to provide the residents with education about climate change and strategies for households to reduce their potential risks from severe climatic events.

scholarly journals A new approach to assess the impact of extreme temperature conditions on social vulnerability

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ibolya Török ◽  
Adina-Eliza Croitoru ◽  
Titus-Cristian Man
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Adaptive Capacity ◽  
Social Vulnerability ◽  
Extreme Temperature ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Vulnerability Index ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Social Vulnerability Index ◽  
Economic Point ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. The objective of this research is to develop a set of vulnerability indicators and to analyze the effect of climate factors on social vulnerability. While the main aim of the study is to improve the existing methodology by quantifying the effects of climate change on social vulnerability, it also represents a novel scientific contribution in the field, as it delimits for the first time in the Romanian literature the most vulnerable areas from this point of view. This study aims to facilitate the decision-making processes and planning efforts targeting the increase of resilience and adaptive capacity of local communities. By applying the principal component analysis, we have selected 45 variables and have constructed four aggregated indexes. The Climate-Related Social Vulnerability index (CleSoVI) has pointed out that the largest impact on the current vulnerability of settlements in the test region (Cluj County) can be attributed to the lack of adaptive capacity and increased poverty, the most vulnerable areas being represented by the eastern and north-western parts of the county. From a socio-economic point of view, local authorities' efforts should concentrate on reducing the vulnerability of these regions and preparing them to cope with- and adapt to the impact of climate change.

scholarly journals Assessing the Impact of Extreme Temperature Conditions on Social Vulnerability

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (15) ◽  
pp. 8510
Author(s):  
Ibolya Török ◽  
Adina-Eliza Croitoru ◽  
Titus-Cristian Man
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Adaptive Capacity ◽  
Social Vulnerability ◽  
Extreme Temperature ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Vulnerability Index ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Social Vulnerability Index ◽  
Economic Point ◽  
The Impact

This research aims to improve the existing methodology by quantifying the effects of climate change on social vulnerability by developing a set of vulnerability indicators. It delimits for the first time in Romania the most vulnerable areas from this point of view and facilitates the decision-making processes and planning efforts targeting the increase of resilience and adaptive capacity of local communities. We selected 35 variables and constructed four aggregated indexes by applying the principal component analysis, and then the Climate-Related Social Vulnerability index (CleSoVI) index was derived. It pointed out that the most significant impact on the vulnerability of settlements in the test region (Cluj County) can be attributed to the lack of adaptive capacity and increased poverty. The most vulnerable areas are located in the northern and south-eastern parts of the county. From a socio-economic point of view, local authorities’ efforts should reduce the vulnerability of these regions and prepare them to cope with and adapt to the impact of climate change.

scholarly journals Social Vulnerability across the Great Lakes Basin: A County-Level Comparative and Spatial Analysis

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (13) ◽  
pp. 7274
Author(s):  
Joshua T. Fergen ◽  
Ryan D. Bergstrom
Keyword(s):  
Great Lakes ◽  
Spatial Patterns ◽  
Social Vulnerability ◽  
Vulnerability Index ◽  
Social Vulnerability Index ◽  
Great Lakes Basin ◽  
Empirical Examination ◽  
Regional Patterns ◽  
Urban Rural ◽  
Social Vulnerabilities

Social vulnerability refers to how social positions affect the ability to access resources during a disaster or disturbance, but there is limited empirical examination of its spatial patterns in the Great Lakes Basin (GLB) region of North America. In this study, we map four themes of social vulnerability for the GLB by using the Center for Disease Control’s Social Vulnerability Index (CDC SVI) for every county in the basin and compare mean scores for each sub-basin to assess inter-basin differences. Additionally, we map LISA results to identify clusters of high and low social vulnerability along with the outliers across the region. Results show the spatial patterns depend on the social vulnerability theme selected, with some overlapping clusters of high vulnerability existing in Northern and Central Michigan, and clusters of low vulnerability in Eastern Wisconsin along with outliers across the basins. Differences in these patterns also indicate the existence of an urban–rural dimension to the variance in social vulnerabilities measured in this study. Understanding regional patterns of social vulnerability help identify the most vulnerable people, and this paper presents a framework for policymakers and researchers to address the unique social vulnerabilities across heterogeneous regions.

scholarly journals Applying the Social Vulnerability Index as a Leading Indicator to Protect Fire-Based Emergency Medical Service Responders’ Health

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (15) ◽  
pp. 8049
Author(s):  
Emily J. Haas ◽  
Alexa Furek ◽  
Megan Casey ◽  
Katherine N. Yoon ◽  
Susan M. Moore
Keyword(s):  
Emergency Response ◽  
Social Vulnerability ◽  
Vulnerability Index ◽  
Fire Service ◽  
Household Composition ◽  
Fire Departments ◽  
Social Vulnerability Index ◽  
Response Planning ◽  
Leading Indicator ◽  
Increased Risk

During emergencies, areas with higher social vulnerability experience an increased risk for negative health outcomes. However, research has not extrapolated this concept to understand how the workers who respond to these areas may be affected. Researchers from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) merged approximately 160,000 emergency response calls received from three fire departments during the COVID-19 pandemic with the CDC’s publicly available Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) to examine the utility of SVI as a leading indicator of occupational health and safety risks. Multiple regressions, binomial logit models, and relative weights analyses were used to answer the research questions. Researchers found that higher social vulnerability on household composition, minority/language, and housing/transportation increase the risk of first responders’ exposure to SARS-CoV-2. Higher socioeconomic, household, and minority vulnerability were significantly associated with response calls that required emergency treatment and transport in comparison to fire-related or other calls that are also managed by fire departments. These results have implications for more strategic emergency response planning during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as improving Total Worker Health® and future of work initiatives at the worker and workplace levels within the fire service industry.

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