Abstract
Several scientific studies show us in an increasingly evident and alarming way the acceleration of climate change in all areas of the planet. But it is in urban areas that the effects of climate change are already becoming evident, with an increase in the frequency of heat waves in urban areas and floods linked to a general increase in temperatures, such as cyclones and typhoons. The significance of the damage caused by these calamitous events is not uniform but depends on the anthropogenic transformations of the territory, such as land consumption and the waterproofing of urban areas. However, other factors also influence climate risk and the vulnerability of areas to climate change. In fact, the conditions of vulnerability can vary according to the characteristics of each territory: social, environmental, infrastructural, public policies, among others. The paper intends to propose an integrated model to measure the vulnerability of territories on the basis of their geomorphological and sociodemographic characteristics and their territorial framework, which can support the choices of planners and policy makers in defining climate adaptation plans for cities. A municipal vulnerability index is developed which can be used to associate the current socio-environmental characteristics of municipalities with climate change scenarios. The model is tested for the municipalities of the Calabria Region in Italy, demonstrating in what terms the poor adaptive capacity influences the current vulnerability of the municipalities of this region, accentuating their marginality. On the basis of the results achieved, planning strategies and priorities to be followed for public policy are proposed, aimed at reducing their vulnerability and making them resilient to face the negative impacts of climate change.
