Multi-criteria comparison analysis of spatial equity for emergency shelters in old and new urban districts: A case study in Wuhua District and Chenggong District of Kunming City, China

Abstract

With the progression of urbanization and the concentration of populations in urban areas, cities are increasingly exposed to disaster risks. Emergency shelters play a critical role in disaster prevention and mitigation, as they are vital for providing temporary refuge and protection during and after catastrophic events. Assessing the spatial equity of these shelters is conducive to enhancing emergency relief capabilities and aiding in disaster risk reduction. However, there remains a lack of clarity regarding the comparative and quantitative disparities between new and old urban areas, particularly in developing countries like China, where urbanization is rapid and populations are dense. To address this issue, this study employed a combination of multi-source data and GIScience technology to analyze the spatial equity of emergency shelters in Wuhua District and Chenggong District of Kunming City, China. We evaluated the overall spatial equity of emergency shelters in both the old urban area (Wuhua District) and the new urban area (Chenggong District) using a comprehensive evaluation model with three criteria: evacuation population capacity, spatial accessibility, and the level of per capita effective shelter area. The results revealed that the old urban area suffers from insufficient effective emergency shelter capacity due to saturated construction land. More than 67 % of the shelters are short-term emergency shelters located close to buildings, which compromises spatial accessibility during earthquake disasters. The level of per capita effective shelter area, as indicated by SSTD, is 24.42 in Wuhua District, suggesting that the effective shelter area in each subdistrict is consistently low, regardless of its urban or suburban classification. In contrast, the new urban district boasts substantial effective emergency shelter capacities, both in the long-term and short-term types, surpassing the reference capacities. The rational spatial layout of various types of emergency shelters ensures that most regions with concentrated buildings are enveloped in accessibility time layers within a 25-min range. The SSTD index of Chenggong District is 349.23, underscoring the significant disparity in the level of per capita effective shelter area at the subdistrict scale, particularly in the district's urban villages and suburban regions. The findings of this study serve as a scientific reference for emergency management and urban planners to reasonably plan or upgrade shelter facilities, thereby improving urban resilience and promoting spatial equity in resource allocation among subdistricts, communities, and residents.