An integrated socio-environmental framework for mapping hazard-specific vulnerability and exposure in urban areas

Hazards act upon vulnerability and exposure to create disaster risk. Despite the growth of disaster risk assessments, the number of approaches that develop vulnerability and exposure studies is still small when compared with hazard modelling. In fact, limited studies have considered the relationship between vulnerability and exposure variables and how this can change future management actions on a local scale. This paper addresses this gap by proposing an integrated framework with a combination of social and environmental sciences to map hazard-specific vulnerability and exposure in urban areas. Subjective (e.g. Participatory Approach) and objective methods (e.g. Shannon Entropy and Fuzzy Theory) were integrated into a pixel-by-pixel framework for enhancing the flooding management in Campina Grande, Brazil. The results express the spatial distribution of flood vulnerability and exposure and assess key issues for flood management in different vulnerability categories. Challenges for the integration of socio-environmental approaches in water resources studies are discussed.

Automated summary

The study proposes an integrated framework combining social and environmental sciences to map hazard-specific vulnerability and exposure in urban areas. Objective and subjective methods are integrated into a pixel-by-pixel framework to enhance flood management in Campina Grande, Brazil. The results express the spatial distribution of flood vulnerability and exposure and assess key issues for flood management in different vulnerability categories.