Urban vulnerability and resilience to climate change: The case of the Guadalajara metropolitan area, Mexico

Abstract

Mexico participates in initiatives and agreements on climate change. Studies have been carried out and legislation produced to address this phenomenon. In the Guadalajara Metropolitan Area (ZMG in Spanish), the second-largest urban area in Mexico, meteorological and geographical vulnerability studies of the territory have been done that offer an overview of the situation, which depends on the physical characteristics of the area at risk, as well as the structural vulnerability of the infrastructure and equipment. As a result of catastrophic events, social and organizational spheres become involved, public and private connect; and their intersection creates vulnerability interdependence, due to proximity, interactions and interfaces in the occupation of spaces, land use and activities in the territory. Urban resilience is understood here as the resistance of a system that absorbs disruptions, and adapts and organizes itself to regain a balance similar to that experienced prior to the extreme event.