{"title":"Attending to the unattended: Why and how do local governments plan for access and functional needs in climate risk reduction?","authors":"Fengxiu Zhang , Tianyi Xiang","doi":"10.1016/j.envsci.2024.103892","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Research and practice in climate risk reduction often view marginalized individuals through the lens of vulnerability. However, this perspective lacks specificity of which groups and needs should be incorporated, features narrow wealth-based conceptualization and provides insufficient operationalizable guidance for planning and implementation. This study highlights the theoretical and practical significance of a functional-based approach. It transcends the apparent differences among social groups, instead identifying their shared activity limitations and associated access and functional needs (AFNs) amid climate hazards. Those social groups generally include but not limited to people with disabilities, limited language proficiency, restricted mobility and economic disadvantage, pregnant women as well as children and seniors. We combine quantitative and qualitative analysis to investigate how and why local governments incorporate AFNs in their climate risk reduction. Based on hazard mitigation and climate adaptation plans across local governments in California, our results show that AFN inclusion is consistently predicted by AFN incorporation in higher-level plans, rather than the presence of AFN populations. Besides, plans embracing the functional-based approach achieve greater comprehensiveness and depth of AFN inclusion. We further highlight the commonalities and differences between the two types of plans and conclude with strategic and operational implications for risk reduction efforts.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":313,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Science & Policy","volume":"162 ","pages":"Article 103892"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9000,"publicationDate":"2024-09-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Environmental Science & Policy","FirstCategoryId":"93","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1462901124002260","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Research and practice in climate risk reduction often view marginalized individuals through the lens of vulnerability. However, this perspective lacks specificity of which groups and needs should be incorporated, features narrow wealth-based conceptualization and provides insufficient operationalizable guidance for planning and implementation. This study highlights the theoretical and practical significance of a functional-based approach. It transcends the apparent differences among social groups, instead identifying their shared activity limitations and associated access and functional needs (AFNs) amid climate hazards. Those social groups generally include but not limited to people with disabilities, limited language proficiency, restricted mobility and economic disadvantage, pregnant women as well as children and seniors. We combine quantitative and qualitative analysis to investigate how and why local governments incorporate AFNs in their climate risk reduction. Based on hazard mitigation and climate adaptation plans across local governments in California, our results show that AFN inclusion is consistently predicted by AFN incorporation in higher-level plans, rather than the presence of AFN populations. Besides, plans embracing the functional-based approach achieve greater comprehensiveness and depth of AFN inclusion. We further highlight the commonalities and differences between the two types of plans and conclude with strategic and operational implications for risk reduction efforts.
期刊介绍:
Environmental Science & Policy promotes communication among government, business and industry, academia, and non-governmental organisations who are instrumental in the solution of environmental problems. It also seeks to advance interdisciplinary research of policy relevance on environmental issues such as climate change, biodiversity, environmental pollution and wastes, renewable and non-renewable natural resources, sustainability, and the interactions among these issues. The journal emphasises the linkages between these environmental issues and social and economic issues such as production, transport, consumption, growth, demographic changes, well-being, and health. However, the subject coverage will not be restricted to these issues and the introduction of new dimensions will be encouraged.