Mapping social vulnerability in Switzerland

This report details a pilot study that sought to understand and map social vulnerability to flood hazard in the city of Zürich. The study develops a theoretical basis, and practical methodology to identify key factors of social vulnerability and their interdependencies.

Social characteristics are then mapped to identify ‘hotspots’ of flood-related social vulnerability in the city. Unlike most previous research on social vulnerability to hazards, this report combines social factors that have been found to influence and exaggerate social vulnerability to hazards.

This approach captures the interdependence of these social factors, providing a more realistic representation of the complexity of social systems. In addition, the research team sought to align the selection of social vulnerability factor ‘categories’ with the Swiss Integrated Disaster Risk Management (IDRM) cycle, ensuring that results from the mapping results could be directly related to organizational civil protection actions.