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

Joshua T. Fergen,Ryan D. Bergstrom

doi:10.3390/su13137274

Abstract

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.

Highlights

The Great Lakes Basin (GLB), along the U.S.–Canadian border, is home to nearly 30 million people [1], is a global economic engine, producing more than $5 trillion in economic output annually [2], and is increasingly under threat from climate-driven disturbances such as rapidly changing water levels, the intensification of storm events, and harmful cyanobacterial blooms [3]
Using the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s Social Vulnerability Index [4], this study examines the spatial distribution of social vulnerability across the GLB and identifies hotspots based on different characteristics of social vulnerability
While spatial assessments of social science data are abundant for other coastal communities in the United States, they are lacking within the GLB [5,6]

Summary

Introduction

The Great Lakes Basin (GLB), along the U.S.–Canadian border, is home to nearly 30 million people [1], is a global economic engine, producing more than $5 trillion in economic output annually [2], and is increasingly under threat from climate-driven disturbances such as rapidly changing water levels, the intensification of storm events, and harmful cyanobacterial blooms [3]. It is critical to identify which areas are most socially vulnerable to identify place-based solutions that facilitate increased resiliency. Using the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s Social Vulnerability Index [4], this study examines the spatial distribution of social vulnerability across the GLB and identifies hotspots based on different characteristics of social vulnerability. This study hopes to determine, (1) how social vulnerability is distributed across the basin,. (2) where spatial clustering of vulnerabilities exists, and (3) if social vulnerability differs across the region. While spatial assessments of social science data are abundant for other coastal communities in the United States, they are lacking within the GLB [5,6]. This study fills an important gap in our understanding of social vulnerability in the Great

Methods

Results

Conclusion