IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/climat/v153y2019i1d10.1007_s10584-019-02386-w.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Local practitioners’ use of vulnerability and resilience concepts in adaptation to flood hazards

Author

Listed:
  • Greg Oulahen

    (Ryerson University)

  • Linda Mortsch

    (University of Waterloo)

  • Erin O’Connell

    (University of Waterloo)

  • Deborah Harford

    (Simon Fraser University)

  • Alexandra Rutledge

    (University of Waterloo)

Abstract

Vulnerability and resilience are important ideas that are conceptualized in many different ways by researchers studying disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation. Four main conceptualizations of vulnerability in the literature include vulnerability as a threshold, as exposure to hazards, as a pre-existing condition, and as an outcome. Three main conceptualizations of resilience are resilience as resistance, as recovery, and as creative transformation. This study investigates how local practitioners in Metro Vancouver municipalities perceive and apply these concepts to reduce risk and adapt to flood hazards. Results from focus groups and surveys of practitioners find that the conceptualizations of vulnerability and resilience perceived as most valuable are often not applied in local risk reduction and adaptation efforts. Participants’ interpretations of how vulnerability and resilience concepts are applied to four main adaptation strategies—protect, accommodate, avoid, and retreat—reveal nuanced and complex challenges at the intersection of where theory meets practice. As currently operationalized, vulnerability and resilience appear unlikely to lead to anything more than incremental adaptation.

Suggested Citation

  • Greg Oulahen & Linda Mortsch & Erin O’Connell & Deborah Harford & Alexandra Rutledge, 2019. "Local practitioners’ use of vulnerability and resilience concepts in adaptation to flood hazards," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 153(1), pages 41-58, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:climat:v:153:y:2019:i:1:d:10.1007_s10584-019-02386-w
    DOI: 10.1007/s10584-019-02386-w
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10584-019-02386-w
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10584-019-02386-w?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Karen O'Brien & Siri Eriksen & Lynn P. Nygaard & Ane Schjolden, 2007. "Why different interpretations of vulnerability matter in climate change discourses," Climate Policy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 7(1), pages 73-88, January.
    2. Mark Pelling & Karen O’Brien & David Matyas, 2015. "Adaptation and transformation," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 133(1), pages 113-127, November.
    3. Burch, Sarah, 2010. "In pursuit of resilient, low carbon communities: An examination of barriers to action in three Canadian cities," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(12), pages 7575-7585, December.
    4. Paulina Aldunce & John Handmer & Ruth Beilin & Mark Howden, 2016. "Is climate change framed as ‘business as usual’ or as a challenging issue? The practitioners’ dilemma," Environment and Planning C, , vol. 34(5), pages 999-1019, August.
    5. Sabrina McCormick, 2016. "Assessing climate change vulnerability in urban America: stakeholder-driven approaches," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 138(3), pages 397-410, October.
    6. Genevi�ve Cloutier & Florent Joerin & Catherine Dubois & Martial Labarthe & Christelle Legay & Dominique Viens, 2015. "Planning adaptation based on local actors' knowledge and participation: a climate governance experiment," Climate Policy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 15(4), pages 458-474, July.
    7. Klaus Eisenack & Susanne C. Moser & Esther Hoffmann & Richard J. T. Klein & Christoph Oberlack & Anna Pechan & Maja Rotter & Catrien J. A. M. Termeer, 2014. "Explaining and overcoming barriers to climate change adaptation," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 4(10), pages 867-872, October.
    8. Sara Meerow & Melissa Stults, 2016. "Comparing Conceptualizations of Urban Climate Resilience in Theory and Practice," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(7), pages 1-16, July.
    9. Gabriela B. Christmann & Karsten Balgar & Nicole Mahlkow, 2014. "Local Constructions of Vulnerability and Resilience in the Context of Climate Change. A Comparison of Lübeck and Rostock," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 3(1), pages 1-18, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. H.M. Tuihedur Rahman & Gordon M. Hickey, 2020. "An Analytical Framework for Assessing Context-Specific Rural Livelihood Vulnerability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(14), pages 1-26, July.
    2. Melania Michetti & Stefano Ghinoi, 2020. "Climate-driven vulnerability and risk perception: implications for climate change adaptation in rural Mexico," Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, Springer;Association of Environmental Studies and Sciences, vol. 10(3), pages 290-302, September.
    3. Mathias Schaefer & Nguyen Xuan Thinh & Stefan Greiving, 2020. "How Can Climate Resilience Be Measured and Visualized? Assessing a Vague Concept Using GIS-Based Fuzzy Logic," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-30, January.
    4. Bisaro, Alexander & Roggero, Matteo & Villamayor-Tomas, Sergio, 2018. "Institutional Analysis in Climate Change Adaptation Research: A Systematic Literature Review," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 151(C), pages 34-43.
    5. Haverkamp, Jamie, 2021. "Collaborative survival and the politics of livability: Towards adaptation otherwise," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 137(C).
    6. Wiriya Puntub & Stefan Greiving, 2022. "Advanced Operationalization Framework for Climate-Resilient Urban Public Health Care Services: Composite Indicators-Based Scenario Assessment of Khon Kaen City, Thailand," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(3), pages 1-20, January.
    7. Chandni Singh & James Ford & Debora Ley & Amir Bazaz & Aromar Revi, 2020. "Assessing the feasibility of adaptation options: methodological advancements and directions for climate adaptation research and practice," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 162(2), pages 255-277, September.
    8. Ana Beatriz Lopes de Sousa Jabbour & Diego Vazquez‐Brust & Charbel José Chiappetta Jabbour & Daniela Andriani Ribeiro, 2020. "The interplay between stakeholders, resources and capabilities in climate change strategy: converting barriers into cooperation," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(3), pages 1362-1386, March.
    9. Eakin, Hallie & Keele, Svenja & Lueck, Vanessa, 2022. "Uncomfortable knowledge: Mechanisms of urban development in adaptation governance," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 159(C).
    10. Katherine E. Laycock & Carrie L. Mitchell, 2019. "Social capital and incremental transformative change: responding to climate change experts in Metro Manila," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 152(1), pages 47-66, January.
    11. Janna D. Tenzing, 2020. "Integrating social protection and climate change adaptation: A review," Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 11(2), March.
    12. Konstantina-Dimitra Salata & Athena Yiannakou, 2023. "A Methodological Tool to Integrate Theoretical Concepts in Climate Change Adaptation to Spatial Planning," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-22, February.
    13. Heather McMillen & Lindsay K. Campbell & Erika S. Svendsen & Renae Reynolds, 2016. "Recognizing Stewardship Practices as Indicators of Social Resilience: In Living Memorials and in a Community Garden," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(8), pages 1-26, August.
    14. Tenzing, Janna & Conway, Declan, 2023. "Does the geographical footprint of Ethiopia’s flagship social protection programme align with climatic and conflict risks?," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 120563, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    15. Busby, Joshua & Smith, Todd G. & Krishnan, Nisha & Wight, Charles & Vallejo-Gutierrez, Santiago, 2018. "In harm's way: Climate security vulnerability in Asia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 88-118.
    16. Bartels, Lara & Kesternich, Martin, 2022. "Motivate the crowd or crowd- them out? The impact of local government spending on the voluntary provision of a green public good," ZEW Discussion Papers 22-040, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    17. Boehnke, Denise & Jehling, Mathias & Vogt, Joachim, 2023. "What hinders climate adaptation? Approaching barriers in municipal land use planning through participant observation," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 132(C).
    18. Jungmin An & Dong-Kwan Kim & Jinyeong Lee & Sung-Kwan Joo, 2021. "Least Squares Monte Carlo Simulation-Based Decision-Making Method for Photovoltaic Investment in Korea," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(19), pages 1-14, September.
    19. Neef, Andreas & Benge, Lucy & Boruff, Bryan & Pauli, Natasha & Weber, Eberhard & Varea, Renata, 2018. "Climate adaptation strategies in Fiji: The role of social norms and cultural values," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 125-137.
    20. Sebastian Scheuer & Dagmar Haase & Volker Meyer, 2011. "Exploring multicriteria flood vulnerability by integrating economic, social and ecological dimensions of flood risk and coping capacity: from a starting point view towards an end point view of vulnera," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 58(2), pages 731-751, August.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:climat:v:153:y:2019:i:1:d:10.1007_s10584-019-02386-w. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.