Urban-rural disparity of vulnerability in face of natural hazards in Australia

Abstract

Assessing vulnerability to natural hazards is at the heart of hazard risk reduction. However, many countries such as Australia lack measuring systems to quantity vulnerability and hazard risks, and somehow neglect the disparity of urban and rural space in response to natural hazards. Drawing on 41 indicators retrieved from census data, digital cadastral maps, land use maps, points of interest data, and earth observation data at the smallest census unit of Australia (Statistical Areas level 1), we constructed the first nationwide fine-grained measuring system of vulnerability for urban and rural space, respectively. Our measures of vulnerability include five themes—socioeconomic status, demographics and disability, minority status and language, housing type and transportation, and built environment—that were further used to access the inequality of vulnerability in face of three widely affected natural hazards in Australia (wildfire, flood and earthquake). We found the inequality of vulnerability in hazard-affected areas in eight capital cities are more significant than that in their rural counterparts. The most vulnerable areas in capital cities were identified to be close to and/or on the urban fringe, where must be prioritized for adaptation. Our results contribute to risk profiling and the sustainable urban-rural development in Australia.

Social Vulnerability in Australlia

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Figure 1. Research design and analytical framework

Data Visualization: Data Availability:

Vulnerability data in both shapefile and csv format can be downloaded from here.

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