Urban Heat & Vulnerable Groups: Risk Adaptation Policies & Local Knowledge In Vienna

Abstract

Recent developments clearly show an increase of extreme weather events because of climate change (IPCC 2018; Blöschl et al. 2019). Due to population density and complex and interdependent infrastructures, especially urban areas are highly vulnerable to weather-related impacts (Markolf et al. 2019). In Vienna, the “impacts of climate change can already be felt […]: between 1961 and 1990, there were on average 9.6 heat days per year at over 30 C. By 2010, this had risen to an average of 15.2 heat days per year.” (Brandenburg et al. 2018, 3) The challenge to anticipate and adapt to climate change related external shocks and long-term stresses like urban heat stress emphasises the need for sustainable urban risk management and planning in large cities like Vienna. Urban heat has different impacts on different social groups. Vulnerability varies according to social, economic, demographic and cultural characteristics of the residents in different urban areas. Marginalised social groups, such as people from lower socio-economic backgrounds, migrants, residents with disabilities (such as chronic or mental illness), the elderly or children, are considered to be particularly vulnerable to the effects of urban heat (Cutter et al 2003; Hansen et al. 2013). Even though social justice and equity have become more prominent in the management of climate change adaptation and mitigation in cities like Vienna in the last decade (Schlosberg 2012; Patterson et al. 2018), there are still barriers that hinder the development of equitable responses to urban heat. The socially diverse, and geographically dispersed needs and vulnerabilities of potentially affected groups do not appear as a well-structured input at any stage of the policy-making process. The limited participation of non-governmental stakeholders and the lack of representation of marginalized groups constrain the effectiveness of adaptation policies (Douglas et al. 2018; Alves et al. 2020; Battisti et al. 2020). Therefore, policy-makers (political and administrative actors) often lack locally specific, systematic knowledge (e.g. district-specific vulnerabilities, and needs of the affected population). The Austrian ACRP project UrbanHeatEquality aims to fill this gap and to provide an important research- based foundation for the development of a climate-just approach to urban heat-wave risks and climate adaptation policies – for and through the example of Vienna. We argue that in addition to systematic expert knowledge and knowledge of the policy process, the integration of local knowledge of vulnerable groups is important for a better understanding and management of risks. Therefore, based on 30 qualitative in-depth interviews with heat-vulnerable people in Vienna, this contribution focuses on and discusses the following questions: How do members of vulnerable groups in Vienna react to urban heat? In which ways urban spaces and infrastructures are used by members of vulnerable groups in Vienna during urban heat waves? What benefits can local knowledge provide for sustainable urban risk management and heat-related adaptation policies, climate change adaptation and mitigation measures to achieve a climate-just city?