Mapping and analyzing socio-environmental vulnerability to coastal hazards induced by climate change: An application to coastal Mediterranean cities in France

The densely populated cities of continental Mediterranean France, which are prone to erosion, are facing a potentially multi-hazard threat, due to a rise in sea-level that is expected to increase by between 0.07 and 0.12 m during the 21st century. The aim of this study is the superimposition of two widely used empirical indexes - the Coastal Sensitivity Index and the Social Vulnerability Index. In this research, the CSI is based on the following 6 parameters: geomorphology, coastal slope, sea-level rise, shoreline changes, mean tidal range and significant wave height, while the SVI used is constructed from 9 parameters: population < 14 years old, population over 75 years old, women, single parent families, families with more than two children, tenants, average density (inhabitants/km2), unemployed population, population with no education and foreigners. The research was initially conducted on the French Mediterranean coast, where environmental inequality was observed, and led to the selection of 3 areas of interest for a further investigation in finer scale (municipality/département/coastal district scale). It was noted that in certain cases the socio-environmental vulnerability of a municipality (as a whole) differed from the one presented in its coastal district. Thus, the socio-environmental vulnerability of a place is related to the study's scale, and the interest lies in the recognition of the most vulnerable coastal districts of cities, in conjunction with coastal sensitivity, in order to prioritize the efforts for coastal management.