Hazard is “a process, phenomenon or human activity that may cause loss of life, injury or other health impacts, property damage, social and economic disruption or environmental degradation.” e.g., high air pollution | prevent future hazard from occurring e.g., provide docked ships with renewable energy so they do not run their engines. This invests money in renewable energy, while avoiding air pollution of the city (Stockholm, Sweden - 2019a) e.g., require large municipal buildings to install solar panels, assist poor households in purchasing solar panels and cheaper renewable energy (Delhi, India - 2013b) e.g., divest pension funds from fossil fuels (NYC, USA - 2019) e.g., use seawater to cool buildings. This removes the need for traditional cooling units, which require much more electricity and emit more CO2 (Hong Kong, China - 2019) e.g., encourage use of low-carbon concrete (Honolulu, USA - 2019c) e.g., establish research hub for renewable energy (Copenhagen, Denmark - 2015d) | reduce current hazard levels e.g., reduce the number of total vehicles (Stockholm, Sweden - 2014) e.g., increase the number of people biking, walking, using public transportation using various methods, such as making streets safer or making bike sharing accessible and affordable. Increased biking, walking, use of public transportations decreases the number of diesel vehicles (NYC, USA - 2013), (Guangzhou, China - 2018), (Copenhagen, Denmark - 2012), (Bucaramanga, Colombia - 2016), (Bogota, Colombia - 2016), (Bengaluru, India - 2013), (London, UK - 2018), (Bologna, Italy - 2018e), (Addis Ababa, Ethiopia - 2018f), (Fortaleza, Brazil - 2013) e.g., Fine idling vehicles who run their engines longer than 3 min by the curb and 1 min in a school zone (NYC, USA - 2017) e.g., shut down the dirtiest power stations and decrease use of coal (Delhi, India - 2018g), (Chengdu, China - 2013) e.g., reduce dust from inner-city construction (Chengdu, China - 2013) e.g., educate city residents about the effects of air pollution and about what they can do to reduce air pollution (Bologna, Italy - 2018h), (Milan, Italy - 2018i) e.g., create local programs that increase recycling and composting of materials, which reduces transportation emissions and avoids creation of new materials - Sydney (Australia), Sao Paulo (Brazil), (Paris, France - no data), (Naestved, Denmark - 2018j) e.g., transform a landfill into a forest, which sequesters CO2 emissions (Durban, South Africa - 2008k) e.g., retrofit buildings to be more energy efficient (NYC, USA - 2019), (Paris, France - 2015l) e.g., recycle heat from data centers and use it for heating of city homes - (Stockholm, Sweden - 2017m) | increase resilience to hazard (general population or community) e.g., encourage all people to bike more improves their cardiovascular health and allows them to better cope with current exposure to air pollution (Bogota, Colombia - 2016), (Copenhagen, Denmark - 2012) e.g., The space created by the absence of cars (due to low-emission zone) can be allocated for public use to create “a more enjoyable and livable city (Milan, Italy - 2019), (NYC, USA - 2013) e.g., creating car-free days once per month encourages residents to gather on the streets, building social cohesion (Addis Ababa, Ethiopia - 2018n) e.g., using seawater to cool building frees up rooftop space for roof top gardens, making the city more livable and spacious (Hong Kong, China - 2019o) e.g., improve bus stops to encourage small and medium businesses to the area, which is not necessarily vulnerable (Guangzhou, China - 2018) |
Exposure “refers to the situation of people, infrastructure, housing, production capacities and other tangible human assets located in hazard-prone areas” e.g., people live where air pollution is high | prevent future exposure e.g., ensure that retrofitted homes can be affordable so as to not push out low-income residents into polluted areas (London, UK - 2018) | reduce current exposure e.g., replace diesel vehicles with electric ones that are not necessarily powered by renewable energy (Stockholm, Sweden - 2014), (NYC, USA - 2013), (Kolkata, India - 2017), (Guangzhou, China - 2018), (London, UK - 2019) e.g., introduce the “common mobility card” to make transfers easier between different modes of public transport and to lower “direct exposure to particulate matter” by decreasing the amount of time residents have to spend commuting (Kolkata, India - 2017) e.g., creating bus lanes, bus bays and nicer bus stops lower exposure to local air pollution due to lower commuter times (Bengaluru, India - 2013) e.g., provide docked ships with renewable energy so they do not run their engines. This invests money in renewable energy, while avoiding air pollution of the city (Stockholm, Sweden - 2019p) e.g., Fine idling vehicles who run their engines longer than 3 min by the curb and 1 min in a school zone (NYC, USA - 2017) e.g., create a low-emission zone in city centers to ban diesel and large vehicles. This decreases inner-city pollution and inner-city congestion, both of which expose city residents to polluted air (Milan, Italy - 2019), (London, UK - 2018) e.g., turn waste leachate into groundwater, preventing harmful emissions to be released into the environment (Bengaluru, India - 2016q) e.g., cooling buildings using seawater reduces local air pollution and reduces exposure to air pollution (Hong Kong, China - 2019) e.g., retrofit buildings using carbon-cutting measures. This reduces indoor exposure to air pollution (NYC, USA - 2019), (Paris, France - 2015). | increase resilience to exposure (general population or community) e.g., create an “emergency action plan for particularly bad air pollution events”, including a warning system for such days, and identify heavily-polluting industries that can be managed during such days. This intervention allows residents to cope with air pollution more effectively (Chengdu,China - 2013), (Bologna, Italy - 2018r) |
Vulnerability includes “things that increase susceptibility to a disaster” e.g., people who are impoverished or have prior health conditions are unable to properly deal with the effects of isolation e.g., people who are poor or have prior health conditions are unable to deal with the effects of high air pollution or isolation if they live in those areas | prevent future vulnerability from occurring (focus on specific vulnerable groups) e.g., encouraging people to bike more improves their cardiovascular health and prevents future vulnerabilities to air pollution - (Bogota, Colombia - 2016), (Copenhagen, Denmark - 2012) e.g., Create retrofitting jobs that are accessible to low-income residents (NYC, USA - 2019) e.g., provide assistance to hospitals and low-income buildings to be retrofitted, becoming more energy-compliant. This intervention allows hospitals and low-income housing to comply without being overburdened, which might lead to further vulnerabilities (NYC, USA - 2019) | reduce current vulnerability (focus on specific vulnerable groups) e.g., create strict “ultra-low emission zone” to protect the most vulnerable residents, who experience higher amounts of air pollution but are less likely to own a car (London, UK - 2019) e.g., provide financial assistance to poor city residents, who often live in “energy poverty”, for the installation of solar panels. This intervention provides cheap and clean energy to those most in need, allowing them to cope with the negative effects of a polluted city (Delhi, India - 2016s) | increase the resilience of those who are particularly vulnerable (focus on specific vulnerable groups) e.g., Establish a fund to help “small- and medium-sized enterprises purchase less-polluting vehicles”, which helps those people who are not able to comply with inner-city clean vehicle rules (Milan, Italy - 2019) |