Contextualizing institutional factors in an indicator-based analysis of hazard vulnerability for coastal communities
Indicator-based approaches to hazard vulnerability analysis are designed to produce policy-relevant information, but are limited in their ability to incorporate indicators that reflect the complex nature and contextual influence of institutional factors on vulnerability. This study
focuses on local government policy and practice as an institutional factor and draws on a survey of municipal practitioners to inform indicators that reflect it. Rather than assess relative vulnerability, the study takes an original approach to construct an index that identifies similarities
and differences in forms of capital that influence vulnerability across communities. The index is demonstrated through a case study of 50 coastal communities in British Columbia, Canada. The study uses local practitioner knowledge to inform indicators of institutional capital that influence
vulnerability to coastal flood hazards, investigates associations between key indicators, and illustrates that incorporating meaningful indicators of institutional capital can enable contextual analysis of how local policy factors affect vulnerability.
Keywords: coastal flood hazards; indicators; institutional factors; local policy; vulnerability
Document Type: Research Article
Affiliations: 1: Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, Ryerson University, Toronto, Canada 2: School of Community and Regional Planning, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada 3: Institute For Resources, Environment, and Sustainability, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
Publication date: 06 December 2018
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