Discussion on the coupling relationship between flood risk and population vulnerability from climate justice

Abstract

Facing the increasingly uncertain climate change, people are paying more and more attention to climate justice in urbanization. Climate change has intensified the vulnerability of cities and may have a greater impact on vulnerable groups. Therefore, this research constructed a framework to explore the coupling relationship between flood risk and population vulnerability from the perspective of climate justice. In this framework, the indicators of population vulnerability and population resilience were built. Then, the flood risk was identified through the relationship of inundation potential. Furthermore, the coupling coordination degree model was used to calculate the coupling between population vulnerability and flood risk, and the coupling between population resilience and flood risk. Finally, the driving factors of urbanization contributing to such coupling were analyzed through the Tobit model. The specific conclusions are (i) the study area shows vulnerable groups more likely to live in areas with high flood risk, and (ii) vulnerable groups are susceptible to the impact of population density and development intensity, while relatively wealthy groups are susceptible to the impact of the level of economic development and urban built environment. The results contribute to a better understanding of spatial inequalities in flood risk and population vulnerability, and climate injustice.