Differential Vulnerability to Climate Related Disasters Among Communities Along the Santa Cruz Coastal Landscape
Social Sciences
ANTH 194U: Environmental Anthropology: Culture, Nature, and Politics
This paper is an analysis of social and environmental vulnerability to the effects of sea-level rise and increased flooding of the Santa Cruz coastal landscape. My research shows that someone’s vulnerability to the effects of climate change is not only a factor of their geographic location, but is also influenced and determined by their social status and their property relations within the society. Because of this, socially vulnerable communities are usually placed in geographically vulnerable locations. As climate change continues to change our daily lives and disrupt the global ecosystem, it will continue to put pressure on the already existing social structures as well as exacerbating the social inequalities that are already present within our societies. My analysis shows that there is evidence of existing differential vulnerability to the effects of climate change along the Santa Cruz coast and that we should be taking action now to be able to adapt and cope with these changes in a socially equitable way. Through a comparison of my analysis of vulnerability and the City of Santa Cruz’s Climate Adaption Plan, I provide possible mitigation and adaption measure that can be taken to protect the most vulnerable communities within the landscape.
