Urban Vulnerability Indicators

As a follow-up of the EEA report 2/2012 on Urban adaptation to climate change in Europe, this Technical Paper is to propose a system of urban vulnerability indicators, which allows assessing where European cities stand in terms of vulnerability and adaptation, and where certain problems cluster. The proposed indicator set can serve different stakeholders that are relevant in a multi-level approach towards urban adaptation. This includes

the European and national level:

• getting an overview of the situation and the trends regarding urban vulnerability and adaptation in Europe,
• identifying hotspots and problem clusters to develop programmes of targeted support,
• identifying positive developments, which can be analysed for success factors and lessons to be learnt,
• as a monitoring tool, to provide input to policy effectiveness evaluations;

the local and regional level:

• getting an indication on how the situation of the own city is within the broader national and European picture,
• identifying cities with similar characteristics that can serve as role models, exchange and cooperation partners,
• encouraging further investigation of the situation with more detailed regional and local data and knowledge.

The proposed concept is currently under further development by the European Environment Agency.