A Method for Constructing a Social Vulnerability Index: An Application to Hurricane Storm Surges in a Developed Country |
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Authors: | Lisa Rygel David O’sullivan Brent Yarnal |
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Affiliation: | (1) ESRI-Washington, D.C., 8620 Westwood Center Drive, Vienna, VA, 22182;(2) School of Geography and Environmental Science, The University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland, New Zealand;(3) Center for Integrated Regional Assessment, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, USA |
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Abstract: | An important goal of vulnerability assessment is to create an index of overall vulnerability from a suite of indicators. Constructing a vulnerability index raises several problems in the aggregation of these indicators, including the decision of assigning weights to them. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate a method of aggregating vulnerability indicators that results in a composite index of vulnerability, but that avoids the problems associated with assigning weights. The investigators apply a technique based on Pareto ranking to a complex, developed socioeconomic landscape exposed to storm surges associated with hurricanes. Indicators of social vulnerability to this hazard are developed and a principal components analysis is performed on proxies for these indicators. Overall social vulnerability is calculated by applying Pareto ranking to these principal components. The paper concludes that it is possible to construct an effective index of vulnerability without weighting the individual vulnerability indicators. |
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Keywords: | vulnerability assessment vulnerability indicators vulnerability index indicator weighting Pareto ranking social vulnerability extreme weather events |
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