Abstract
In today’s urban environments with complex design and configurations, heterogeneous spatial clusters of communities with different socioeconomic characteristics may result in disproportionate exposure of some groups of citizens to natural hazards. The objective of this study was to compare the associations between communities’ socioeconomic characteristics and exposure to different types of natural hazards in New York City (NYC) to examine whether commonly accepted indicators of social vulnerability are associated with similar levels of exposure across various natural hazards. First, we collected socioeconomic data (e.g., population, median income, unemployment rate) at a zip code level of granularity provided by the United States Census Bureau. Next, we identified and gathered spatial data for coastal storms, flooding, extreme heat, and pandemic disease in NYC. We then conducted a pairwise Kendall’s τ-b test to compare the associations. The outcomes showed that the significance and direction of the associations depend on the type of natural hazard. Particularly, the results indicated that zip codes with lower socioeconomic factors and greater percentage of minority ethnicities are exposed disproportionately to extreme heat and COVID-19. On the other hand, zip codes with higher percentage of areas prone to flooding have relatively higher socioeconomic factors. Furthermore, the results did not show any statistically significant association between socioeconomic factors and exposure to coastal storm inundations. The outcomes of this study will help decision makers design and implement better optimized and effective emergency preparedness plans by prioritizing their target areas based on socioeconomic factors in order to enhance social justice.
Highlights
Natural hazards are getting worse in intensity and frequency as a result of climate change [1]
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Heterogeneous spatial clusters of communities with different socioeconomic characteristics may lead to social and economic divisions that may result in disproportionate exposure to natural hazards for different groups of citizens
Summary
Natural hazards are getting worse in intensity and frequency as a result of climate change [1]. Previous studies including Chan [2], Wisner et al [3], and Rodriguez-Oreggia et al [4] have argued that socioeconomic characteristics of urban communities might affect their residents’ vulnerability to natural hazards. In typical urban areas and major cities, socioeconomic characteristics are spatially structured. That structuring creates heterogeneous geographical clusters of communities consisting of households with relatively similar socioeconomic attributes. Heterogeneous spatial clusters of communities with different socioeconomic characteristics may result in racial and economic divisions and inequality in an urban environment. If the socioeconomic characteristics of households and communities are associated with their exposure to natural hazards, some communities and their people may suffer from a natural hazard disproportionately. To create a more resilient and fair urban society, it is critical to consider spatial socioeconomic characteristics when designing city development strategies and community hazard preparedness plans
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