Spatial Inequality Analysis of Fire Risk in China

Abstract

Gini coefficient and Lorenz curve are increasingly used to examine the inequality of wealth, income, economy, and health. The objective of the current study is to introduce Gini coefficient and Lorenz curve, coefficient of variation(CV), and spatial equilibrium index (SEI) to explore the spatial inequality and spatial-temporal evolution of fires in China based on the fire statistics from 2003 to 2012. The spatial inequality of fire risk is influenced by population,provinces, regions, and fire causes. The results indicate that the spatial inequality of the fire deaths tends to become more intense over time, and shows spatial concentration. However, the number of fires becomes more decentralized distribution. As regards the three regions, the inequality of the number of fires in the central region (with Gini > 0.4) is relatively obvious. As regards the seven causes, playing with fire, smoking, and improperly using fire presents extreme inequality in different provinces. The provinces with a high level of fire risk for different factors are depicted in maps by using ArcGIS, which can explicitly illustrate the spatial distribution characteristics of fire risk. The conclusions also demonstrate that CV, SEI, and Gini are suitable for analysis of the spatial inequality of fire risk.