Comparative indicators of hazards vulnerability in urban areas

该项目考察了120个美国最大城市面对自然灾害事件的脆弱性。该研究将在地理信息系统中识别和整合那些增加或减少城市脆弱性的特定生物物理、社会和建筑环境变量。推动这项研究的三个问题是：1)是什么潜在因素导致了人类系统（或社会）的脆弱性？2)我们能否开发出一种一致且稳健的比较措施，使我们能够使用危害、社会和建筑环境指标来比较一个大都市地区与另一个大都市地区的整体脆弱性？3)三个关键指标（危害、社会和建筑环境）的相对重要性是否随时间和空间而变化？该项目将利用现有的危害和人口数据库，以及研究者通过先前nsf资助的研究创建的数据库。对于每个大都市地区，我们将开发一系列综合指数，使我们能够描绘出每个城市自然、社会和建筑环境的脆弱性。历史数据的可用性使我们能够监测过去40年（1960-2000年）脆弱性的变化。通过使用地理信息系统，我们不仅可以绘制出脆弱性的地理差异，还可以绘制出历史变化。通过这种方式，我们应该能够确定哪些城市地区是最脆弱的，以及为什么。

This project examines the vulnerability of 120 of the nation's largest cities to natural hazard events. The research will identify and integrate within a geographical information system, those specific biophysical, social, and built environment variables that either increase or decrease vulnerability in cities. Three questions drive this research: 1) What underlying factors produce human systems (or social) vulnerability and what metrics are most appropriate for measuring it? 2) Can we develop a consistent and robust comparative measure that allows us to compare the overall vulnerability of one metropolitan area to another using hazard, social, and built environment indicators? and 3) Does the relative importance of the three key indicators (hazard, social, and built environment) change over time and space? The project will utilize existing hazard and demographic databases as well as those created by the investigator through prior NSF-funded research. For each metropolitan area we will develop a series of composite indexes that allow us to paint a picture of the vulnerability of the natural, social, and built environment in each city. The availability of historic data enables us to monitor changes in vulnerability during the past 40 years (1960-2000). By using a geographical information system, we will be able to map not only the geographic differences in vulnerability, but also the historic changes as well. In this way, we should be able to determine which urban areas are the most vulnerable and why.