An open access approach to mapping climate risk and vulnerability for decision-making: A case study of Birmingham, United Kingdom

Abstract

The global climate is changing, and local authorities must respond to changing climate risk to protect citizens and the urban environment in which they live. This paper presents an open access approach to map climate risk and vulnerability using Birmingham, the UK’s second city as a case study. A Climate Risk and Vulnerability Assessment (CRVA) was co-created with Birmingham City Council to ensure the approach supports the organisation’s needs, now and in the future. Using Geographic Information System (GIS) software, eleven geospatial datasets expressing physical, environmental, and social variables were combined to characterise holistic climate risk and vulnerability relative to the city boundary, where the higher the score, the higher the combined climate risk and vulnerability of an area. The resulting map (i) transparently evidences climate impacts across the city and the underpinning drivers, (ii) supports the prioritisation of interventions for those areas most at risk or vulnerable to climate change, (iii) supports the implementation of more climate-resilient development, and (iv) can be managed by stakeholders going forward for monitoring and evaluation purposes. While there are inevitable limitations in what can be achieved with an open access approach, the current CRVA can be considered a ‘minimum viable product’ that can be developed and improved iteratively in climate adaptation planning cycles. Its results can feed into broader policy agendas, such as national adaptation plans, adaptation reporting, just transition, and biodiversity net gain.