Social Vulnerability, Wildfire Risk, and Ecological Concerns Over the American Wildland-Urban Interface in the San Francisco Bay Area: A Sustainable Development Perspective

Abstract

Building more homes and amenities in the wildland-urban interface (wui) is not a sustainable practice as it is associated with a greater risk of wildfire, social vulnerability, and ecological damage. Yet, the issue of whether or how to regulate the expansion of the wui remains contentious and largely unresolved in understanding sustainable development. There are fewer studies that explore how wildfire risks are compounded by social vulnerability of people who reside in the fire prone wui. Additionally, much of the extant research is focused on the national or regional level management of ecosystems and forest fires, with a clear lack of focus on local level dynamics. To fill these gaps, our analysis outlines the preliminary steps to identify social vulnerability, ecological damage, and wildfire risk in the wui fire hazard zones of the highest severity type. Utilizing gis mapping, wildfire risk, and census data on social vulnerability, our analysis reveals patterns of the wui expansion in the San Francisco Bay Area from 1990 to 2010 and provides policy recommendations from a sustainable development perspective to address social vulnerability, wildfire risk, and ecological concerns over the wui.