A social-ecological-technological vulnerability approach for assessing urban hydrological risks
Khromova, Svetlana (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals)
Villalba, Gara (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament d'Enginyeria Química, Biològica i Ambiental)
Eckelman, Matthew (Northeastern University)
Herreros-Cantis, Pablo (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals)
Langemeyer, Johannes (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals)

Date:	2025
Abstract:	In the context of urban population growth and climate change, and ever greater number of people are anticipated to face severe risks associated with extreme climate events; major ones are due to stormwater-related hazards. This study offers novel understanding of the complex nature of water-related risks in urban geographies by employing a Social-Ecological-Technological Systems (SETS) framework to assess vulnerabilities. Hydrology-informed urban risk index was developed, quantifying seventeen indicators from historical and modeled data on sewer overflow and flood events. The spatially explicit SETS-based approach identifies high-risk communities and hotspots where multiple vulnerabilities intersect and can serve as a valuable tool for guiding policy and decision-making to support more resilient urban futures. Our findings reveal that social vulnerability plays a critical role in determining the overall risk (R = 0. 4), with the greatest impacts imposed on socially vulnerable communities. However, insights from the ecological (R = 0. 2) and technological (R = 0. 1) domains provide essential guidance for future risk reduction strategies-such as upgrading outdated sewer infrastructure and exploring green space potential for run-off mitigation. The framework proposed is generalizable to other cities facing similar environmental challenges, highlighting its potential as a foundational tool for policymaking to reduce risks associated with extreme climate events.
Grants:	Agència de Gestió d'Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca 2024/FI-200594 Agencia Estatal de Investigación PCI2022-133011 European Commission 818002 Agència de Gestió d'Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca 2021/SGR-00734 "la Caixa" Foundation 100010434 Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación CEX2019-000940-M
Note:	Unidad de excelencia María de Maeztu CEX2019-000940-M
Rights:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, la comunicació pública de l'obra i la creació d'obres derivades, sempre que no sigui amb finalitats comercials, i sempre que es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original.
Language:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió publicada
Subject:	Mapping ; Resilience ; Risk ; Social-ecological-technological systems ; Urban stromwater ; SDG 11 - Sustainable Cities and Communities ; SDG 13 - Climate Action
Published in:	Ecological indicators, Vol. 173 (April 2025) , art. 113334, ISSN 1470-160X

DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolind.2025.113334
PMID: 40255455

16 p, 15.2 MB

The record appears in these collections:
Research literature > UAB research groups literature > Research Centres and Groups (research output) > Experimental sciences > Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals (ICTA) > Sustainability and Environmental Protection (Sostenipra)
Articles > Research articles
Articles > Published articles