Analysis of social vulnerability of residential community to hazards in Tianjin, China

The residential community is the basic unit of a city. The evaluation of community-based social vulnerability to hazards plays a vital role in improving urban disaster prevention and mitigation capabilities and enhances nationwide comprehensive disaster management. In this study, five social vulnerability indicators indexes (social network, community administration, community participation, community disaster prevention, and social support) are selected to build a community-based social vulnerability index (SoVI). Next, an Analytic Hierarchy Process-Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (AHP-TOPSIS) mathematical model is developed to access the community-based social vulnerability. Three typical residential communities in Tianjin are selected as study sites, and field investigations are conducted. The results indicate that relationships among residents, cooperation, and collective action are effective factors in all three communities and that each community has particular factors influencing its vulnerability characteristics. According to the results, a series of targeted advice and measures is proposed for each community, which could be helpful for policy makers and hazard managers.