Climate change, urban flood vulnerability, and responsibility in Taipei

Abstract

Capital cities in Asia are rapidly growing both in size and in their vulnerability to climate change impacts. Although climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies have been drafted in many Asian cities, little is known about how a city’s growth affects its vulnerability to climate change and how governmental agencies respond to climate risks. Nowhere is this more evident than in Taipei, Taiwan, a city whose population has doubled over the last 40 years, during which urban flooding has also increased. Here, we use Taipei as a case study to ask three interrelated questions: (1) What determines a city’s vulnerability to climate change impacts, especially flooding? (2) How do land use regulations affect urban vulnerability to climate change? (3) What governmental agencies are responsible for regulations affecting the land use and ultimately climate change vulnerability? Our analysis indicates that the combination of unclear government responsibility and minimal coordination among governmental agencies has resulted in ineffective strategies to minimize flooding risk. Despite numerous policies, Taipei is still highly vulnerable to flooding, and the risks are not distributed equally among the population.