A Method for the Definition of Local Vulnerability Domains to Climate Change and Relate Mapping. Two Case Studies in Southern Italy

Abstract

Climate change is contributing to raising disaster risk, with variable impacts depending on the local level of vulnerability. This paper describes a method for the definition of local vulnerability domains to climate change. The application of the methodology is aimed at building local vulnerability maps. The set of indicators of climate exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity, theoretically identified and practically tested on two case studies in southern Italy, contributes to support the territories in identifying the main local vulnerabilities, as well as define, subsequently, a systematic framework for identifying the most suitable mitigation and adaptation measures to climate change according to the specificities of the contexts of interest. In this regard, we consider the framework of risks and related impacts due to climate change on urban infrastructure proposed by the European Commission in order to face common challenges in the EU territories. Specifically, reference is made to three thematic focuses, which are “transport infrastructures”, “energy infrastructures” and “buildings and construction sector”. Although still at an early stage, the results of the research contribute to identifying useful elements of interrelation with the urban context for guiding resilient planning choices and reducing risks.

Adapting to the Impacts Posed by Climate Change: Applying the Climate Change Risk Indicator (CCRI) Framework in a Multi-Modal Transport System

“…Doll et al [83] started considering diverse transport modes by identifying corresponding hazards and possible adaptation measures. There have been similar studies in the UK [84], Sweden [85], Italy [86], Greece [87], Tanzania [88], Austria [89], and the US [90]. Also, there have been comparative analyses among different countries, and there is a European climate risk project to project the risks of different transport infrastructures [91].…”

Multidisciplinary Evaluation of Vulnerabilities: Communities in Northern Mexico

“…In addition to climate change or disasters caused by nature, some indexes can investigate social vulnerability, such as the Social Vulnerability Index or the Frailty Index, which come in handy with complex phenomena that may affect individuals or the group of reference [50]. Those indexes may work with techniques developed for nonsocial purposes, such as mapping instruments that will give visibility to a geographical area [51]. Thus, vulnerability results from specific spatial, socioeconomic, demographic, cultural, and institutional contexts [52] and should be measured using different instruments.…”

Climate-Risk Assessment Framework for Airports under Extreme Precipitation Events: Application to Selected Italian Case Studies

“…Figure 2 shows the methodological approach used in the study and the key steps are summarized below. In order to achieve the final risk, we used the following procedure, which has been widely used in several studies [19,[26][27][28]: Concerning the climate analysis of the future, the variation in extreme precipitation indicators was performed using the high-resolution simulation (about 12 km) of different regional climate models (RCM) included in the EURO-CORDEX initiative [17,18]. The simulation considered was obtained according to the RCP 2.6, RCP 4.5, RCP 8.5 IPCC scenarios (i.e., multi-scenarios approach).…”

“…where x i represents the individual data point to be transformed, x max corresponds to the highest value and x min to the lowest value for each indicator. In this way, every parameter X i,1 is identified by a numerical value from 0 to 1, where the value 0 represents the optimal level, while the value 1 reflects the most critical estimates [15,19,26].…”