Utilizing Geographic Information System (GIS) Approaches to Map Compounding Vulnerabilities to COVID-19 and Natural and Anthropogenic Hazards in Houston, TX

Keywords: compounding disasters, spatial analysis, environmental justice
Abstract Type: Paper Abstract

Abstract

Compounding disasters describe how communities experience multiple exposures to hazards, either cascading, chronic, or repetitive events, at similar or extended periods. Successive exposures impact communities’ resilience to simultaneous or future hazards, increasing risk for negative public health outcomes. As demonstrated in environmental justice literature, this is especially relevant for those with systematic disadvantages due to their race or socioeconomic status. Despite having ample evidence of disproportionate experiences within vulnerable communities, little research has linked geospatial indicators and hazard experiences. This study seeks to close this gap by utilizing spatial statistics to investigate relationships between compounding disaster experiences and historically vulnerable populations and identify hazard hot spots. A 2021 survey asked respondents in Houston, TX, about how many disasters they experienced within the past 5 years. Responses were categorized into natural, anthropogenic, and COVID-19 hazards and then aggregated to the zip code level with demographic data. Univariate LISA analyses identified spatial clustering of compounding disaster experiences for different hazard types and demographic groups across Houston, TX, confirming that some localized areas report significantly more compounding disaster events than others. Bivariate LISAs were then calculated to determine if increased disaster exposure was spatially correlated with vulnerable populations. Results show that non-Hispanic/Latino White populations, even low median-income ones, experience fewer compounding hazards over 5 years than communities of color. Such applications can improve spatial investigations in environmental justice by identifying spatial trends not revealed with common spatial analyses and help guide mitigation and adaptation strategies for those disproportionately affected by compounding hazards.