Vertical vulnerability and exposure of people in the context of disaster risk at the building, city and regional level

Vulnerability in the context of disaster risk is widely analysed in terms of the horizontal distribution of people and social groups, as well as their features and capabilities. However, vertical distributions are not yet well-researched, as a systematic literature scoping review finds. Power relations and hierarchies are analysed in existing studies, as are other effects of vertical separation within groups, including disease transmission, inequalities within hierarchies, and the capacities of social capital. An additional re-analysis of field studies reveals additional important aspects that need to be considered in vertical vulnerability studies: people killed by floods in underground garages, evacuation problems for buildings with elevators, slopes and foothills, affected by flash floods, and mud flows, or accessibility to neighbourhoods being hampered by the debris of collapsed buildings in earthquakes. The study proposes a more thorough and systematic investigation of the vertical aspects of people's vulnerability, including their social and physical characteristics, as well as those of social groups. It outlines conceptual schematics, helping to identify this at the building, city and regional level. This will improve the conceptual quality of vulnerability and disaster risk research by explicitly emphasising the vertical dimensions of location and place-based context. It will also inform future urban planning efforts to enhance safety, health, and disaster risk management. It will also enable more effective evacuation and rescue of people from buildings and affected terrain in cities or rural areas.