Vulnerability Check for Austrian cities: How to measure local vulnerability

Abstract

Cities are increasingly confronted with the impacts of climate change, which affects their built environment, blue and green infrastructure as well as the quality of life of their citizens. Thus, there is an urgent need for cities to face their resilience against occurring crises and shocks, to develop new planning strategies and improve their governance approaches. Effective measures for robust infrastructures and improved adaptive capacities, however, require a comprehensive assessment of the specific vulnerability risk of each city. In this context, the research project “VESPA” provides a prototype for a rapid vulnerability-city-check for Austrian cities as an evidence-based foundation for political decision-makers and city administrations. The goal is to define and to implement an indicator system, which is able to evaluate the vulnerability of small and medium sized cities in Austria in close co-operation with local stakeholders. Such a catalogue of indicators, which includes the crucial structural and institutional conditions in a city, aims at identifying, assessing and mapping specific vulnerabilities of cities in the fields of “mobility transition”, “energy transition” and “local circular economy” against relevant external threats and challenges. An individual vulnerability profile is developed and operationalized in a digital tool for the city of Lienz in order to get an impression of their applicability in practice. The experiences of this case study shall then be translated into a general concept for evidence-based vulnerability checks in Austrian cities. The presentation will provide basic ideas on the importance of dealing with urban vulnerability and present a draft indicator system, which is able to point out specific vulnerabilities of small and medium-sized cities in Austria in individual vulnerability profiles and to translate them to customized planning strategies and policy measures in the challenging fields of urban mobility, energy and circular economy.