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Social Vulnerability to Climatic Shocks Is Shaped by Urban Accessibility

Author

Listed:
  • Luke Parry
  • Gemma Davies
  • Oriana Almeida
  • Gina Frausin
  • André de Moraés
  • Sergio Rivero
  • Naziano Filizola
  • Patricia Torres

Abstract

Despite growing interest in urban vulnerability to climatic change, there is no systematic understanding of why some urban centers have greater social vulnerability than others. In this article, we ask whether the social vulnerability of Amazonian cities to floods and droughts is linked to differences in their spatial accessibility. To assess the accessibility of 310 urban centers, we developed a travel network and derived measures of connectivity and geographical remoteness. We found that 914,654 people live in roadless urban centers (n = 68) located up to 2,820 km from their state capital. We then tested whether accessibility measures explained interurban differences in quantitative measures of social sensitivity, adaptive capacity, and an overlooked risk area, food system sensitivity. Accessibility explained marked variation in indicators of each of these dimensions and, hence, for the first time, we show an underlying spatial basis for social vulnerability. For instance, floods pose a greater disease risk in less accessible urban centers because inadequate sanitation in these places exposes inhabitants to environmental pollution and contaminated water, exacerbated by poverty and governance failures. Exploring the root causes of these spatial inequalities, we show how remote and roadless cities in Amazonia have been historically marginalized and their citizens exposed to structural violence and economic disadvantage. Paradoxically, we found that places with the highest social vulnerability have the greatest natural and cultural assets (rainforest, indigenous peoples, and protected areas). We conclude that increasing accessibility through road building would be maladaptive, exposing marginalized people to further harm and exacerbating climatic change by driving deforestation.

Suggested Citation

  • Luke Parry & Gemma Davies & Oriana Almeida & Gina Frausin & André de Moraés & Sergio Rivero & Naziano Filizola & Patricia Torres, 2018. "Social Vulnerability to Climatic Shocks Is Shaped by Urban Accessibility," Annals of the American Association of Geographers, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 108(1), pages 125-143, January.
  • Handle: RePEc:taf:raagxx:v:108:y:2018:i:1:p:125-143
    DOI: 10.1080/24694452.2017.1325726
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Carolina Milhorance & Marcel Bursztyn, 2019. "Climate adaptation and policy conflicts in the Brazilian Amazon: prospects for a Nexus + approach," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 155(2), pages 215-236, July.
    2. Parry, Luke & Radel, Claudia & Adamo, Susana B. & Clark, Nigel & Counterman, Miriam & Flores-Yeffal, Nadia & Pons, Diego & Romero-Lankao, Paty & Vargo, Jason, 2019. "The (in)visible health risks of climate change," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 241(C).
    3. Fonseca Morello, Thiago, 2023. "Hospitalization due to fire-induced pollution in the Brazilian Amazon: A causal inference analysis with an assessment of policy trade-offs," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 161(C).
    4. Beth Tellman & Cody Schank & Bessie Schwarz & Peter D. Howe & Alex de Sherbinin, 2020. "Using Disaster Outcomes to Validate Components of Social Vulnerability to Floods: Flood Deaths and Property Damage across the USA," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(15), pages 1-28, July.

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