Towards Urban Climate Justice: Integrating Social Vulnerability in Climate Adaptation Planning

Climate change causes an increase in occurrence and intensity of extreme weather events, especially in densely built cities. Consequently, inequities are created as not only the exposure varies across geographies, but also the sensitivity and adaptive capacity towards climate hazards, which can differ on an individual level. From an urban climate justice perspective, these inequities need to be considered in climate adaptation planning practices, something that is currently lacking in many municipalities. This research explores how municipalities can assess social vulnerability for a more just approach to climate adaptation planning. A case study of the coastal city of Oostende (Belgium) is used to illustrate the method, which combines exposure to climate hazards (fluvial flooding, pluvial flooding, storm surges, and heat) and an established social vulnerability index covering a wide range of social and cultural factors that influence sensitivity and adaptive capacity of those communities. The results are mapped and these facilitate prioritisation for just climate adaptation measures. Namely making parts of the population more visible, which serves to increase the recognition of disadvantaged groups and their realities, which is why adaption measures can be tailored to their specific needs. This can also be used to positively influence the distribution of adaptation measures across the city but also across its inhabitants. Maps such as the ones produced in this study can function as an aid to point towards areas that are especially vulnerable and make the communication of these issues within and outside of the municipality easier. The approach has proven to be user-friendly and easy to implement by Oostende as well as other European coastal cities.