A Combined Spatial Investigation of Social Vulnerability and Flood Hazard: A Brief Report on the Metropolitan City of Bari (Southern Italy)

The development of natural hazards into disasters is driven by their effects on the built environment, infrastructure, and human populations. Given that both natural phenomena and social systems are influenced by a range of spatial and temporal variables, analyzing the complex interplay between environmental hazards and socioeconomic contexts remains a central challenge in disaster studies. In this regard, a multidisciplinary framework that integrates the quantification and spatial mapping of social vulnerability with hazard assessments provides a critical instrument for identifying at-risk areas and informing targeted risk reduction strategies. For this reason, this study integrates social vulnerability with flood hazard at submunicipality scale across the metropolitan city of Bari, utilizing data from national open-source platforms. By adopting a local spatial approach at the enumeration area level, the analysis explores the relationship between spatial dimensions, degrees of social vulnerability, and flood hazard using a Geographic Information System (GIS) technology. The findings can support knowledge-based risk reduction policies (i.e., place-based policies) and inform targeted strategies tailored to the vulnerability levels of specific population subgroups.