Journal article
Social disparities in neighborhood flood exposure in 44,698 urban neighborhoods in Latin America
Nature Cities
10 Feb 2025
Abstract
Climate change is expected to greatly increase exposure to flooding, particularly among urban populations in low- and middle-income countries. Here we used daily flood data (2000–2018) to describe socioeconomic disparities in flooding on the basis of neighborhood educational attainment, comparing disparities across and within cities. We used multilevel models to examine disparities in area flooding by city- and neighborhood-level factors, including 44,698 neighborhoods in 276 cities from eight countries with a total of 223 million residents and 117 distinct flood events. One in 4 of residents of neighborhoods in the lowest quintile of educational attainment were exposed to flooding, compared with 1 in 20 residents of neighborhoods in the highest quintile of educational attainment. Neighborhoods experiencing more flooding included those with lower educational attainment, that were coastal, less dense, further from the city center and greener, and that had steeper slopes. We show large social disparities in neighborhood flooding within Latin American cities. Policymakers must prioritize flood adaptation and recovery efforts in neighborhoods with lower socioeconomic status.
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Details
- Title
- Social disparities in neighborhood flood exposure in 44,698 urban neighborhoods in Latin America
- Creators
- Josiah L. KephartUsama BilalNelson GouveiaOlga Lucia SarmientoEmily ShingaraKarla Rangel MorenoMaryia BakhtsiyaravaJuan Pablo RodriguezSalvador AyalaGabriel Carrasco-EscobarAna V. Diez Rouxthe SALURBAL Group
- Publication Details
- Nature Cities
- Publisher
- Nature Publishing Group
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Urban Health Collaborative; Epidemiology and Biostatistics; Environmental and Occupational Health
- Other Identifier
- 991022027536604721