Household responses to climate-related hazards in four Latin American cities: A conceptual framework and exploratory analysis

Vulnerability has been considered as a focal topic in various fields of study relating to human-environmental interactions, including climate change impacts, disaster and risk, and sustainable development. As hotspots for both the causes and consequences of climate change, urban areas have become increasingly visible in recent vulnerability and adaptation research. The influencing factors of local populations' responses to climate change hazards have been relatively understudied in recent literature on vulnerability to global environmental change. In this study, we developed a synthetic conceptual framework of urban households' responses to climate-related hazards, and conducted a preliminary analysis of its applicability using household survey data from four major Latin American cities (Bogotá, Colombia; Buenos Aires, Argentina; Mexico City, Mexico; and Santiago, Chile). The analysis revealed that variables measuring perceived impacts and the sensitivity and social asset aspects of social vulnerability were particularly related with household response to the safety and health risks of climate hazards. These results provide general support for our conceptual approach to vulnerability focusing on human response actions.