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Spatial analysis of urban water vulnerability in cities vulnerable to climate change: a study in Ahvaz, Iran

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Abstract

Water is a critical issue, especially in developing countries’ cities that are grappling with climate change effects. Given the importance of water infrastructure assets in cities life and functionality, assessing their vulnerability and trying to make it resilient is an essential mission. To this end, this study has attempted to spatially analyze the urban water infrastructure assets vulnerability in Ahvaz, Iran, that has been hit by various climate change-related disastrous events over the past few years. Regarding this, the study has introduced two indicators, namely distribution and adaptation to determine the vulnerability of water infrastructure assets that have been recognized by applying a two-round Delphi survey. Findings indicate that, overall, there is no positive outlook and reliable capacity in terms of water resilience in Ahvaz because of distribution and adaptability of water infrastructure assets in the spatial area of the city and considerable parts of the city are vulnerable in face of any adverse event. This is mostly the case in Regions 1, 7, 3, 4 that feature a centralized and irregular form of water infrastructure assets distribution and proximity to non-adaptable land uses. Moreover, final spatial vulnerability map highlighted by two critical (hotspot) points, which shows the most vulnerable parts of the city for water infrastructure assets. The study highlights the need to make improvements urban water resilience due to reducing vulnerability, especially considering the spatial distribution and adaptation of water infrastructure assets in Ahvaz.

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Notes

  1. https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/iran-orders-tens-thousands-evacuate-ahvaz-over-deadly-floods

    https://en.isna.ir/photo/99091108927/Ahvaz-floods-after-heavy-rain

  2. https://www.yjc.ir/en/news/6272/dust-storm-kills-ahvaz-in-photos

    https://theiranproject.com/blog/2018/02/11/drought-dust-storms-suffocate-irans-khuzestan-province/

  3. https://financialtribune.com

  4. https://www.esri.com/arcgis-blog/products/product/analytics/the-power-of-where-how-spatial-analysis-leads-to-insight/

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Acknowledgements

We would like to express our special appreciation and thanks to Ahvaz Water and Wastewater Organization and Municipality of Ahvaz for letting us to access to basic and initial data needed for spatial analysis of urban water vulnerability. We would also like to thank the respected experts that took part continuously to introduce, identify, and confirm the research indicators and measurement criteria, and definitely, this work would not have been possible without their consideration and participation.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Iran Ministry of Road and Urban Development, Office of Housing Planning and Economics, Africa Blvd., Abbas Abad Lands, Tehran, 1519713111, Iran

    H. Alizadeh

  2. Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Department of Geography and Urban Planning, Ahvaz, Iran

    H. Alizadeh

  3. Department of Urban Planning, Islamic Azad University, Qazvin Branch, Qazvin, Iran

    V. Moshfeghi

Authors
  1. H. Alizadeh
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Correspondence to H. Alizadeh.

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Conflict of interest

The authors declare that this research complies with ethical guidelines, it has not been published before and is not being considered for publication elsewhere. We also declare no conflicts of interest.

Additional information

Editorial responsibility: Samareh Mirkia.

Appendix: Questionnaire

Appendix: Questionnaire

Distribution

Very low vulnerable

Low vulnerable

Semi-vulnerable

Vulnerable

Highly vulnerable

Up to 500 m

     

501 to 750 m

     

751 to 1000 m

     

1001 to 1250 m

     

Over 1250 m

     

Adaptation

Very low vulnerable

Low vulnerable

Semi-vulnerable

Vulnerable

Highly vulnerable

Residential Land use

Adaptable land use O non-adaptable land use O

     

Educational Land use

Adaptable land use O non-adaptable land use O

     

Health services Land use

Adaptable land use O non-adaptable land use O

     

Green space Land use

Adaptable land use O non-adaptable land use O

     

Open spaces Land use

Adaptable land use O non-adaptable land use O

     

Sports Land use

Adaptable land use O non-adaptable land use O

     

Industrial Land use

Adaptable land use O non-adaptable land use O

     

Commercial Land use

Adaptable land use O non-adaptable land use O

     

Firefighting Station Land use

Adaptable land use O non-adaptable land use O

     

Petrol and CNG station Land use

Adaptable land use O non-adaptable land use O

     

Police and crisis management station Land use

Adaptable land use O non-adaptable land use O

     

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Alizadeh, H., Moshfeghi, V. Spatial analysis of urban water vulnerability in cities vulnerable to climate change: a study in Ahvaz, Iran. Int. J. Environ. Sci. Technol. 20, 9587–9602 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13762-023-05032-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13762-023-05032-2

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