URBAN VULNERABILITY TO CLIMATE CHANGE: AN ASSESSMENT ON İSTANBUL

Risks related to climate change increase continuously in urban centers with concentrated population and economic activities. Climate change and successive effects influence all aspects of urban life, threaten the life and livelihood of the urban population and even lead to mass migration. The unique socio-economic and spatial structure of the cities increases their sensitivity to the effects of climate change, thus rendering them vulnerable to climate change. Therefore, it is not possible to plan the future of urban areas without considering the climate change. The first step in creating resilient cities to climate change is to determine the urban-specific vulnerabilities. Based on this premise, the present study aimed to identify the indicators of urban vulnerability to climate change and to assess İstanbul s vulnerability based on these indicators. In the framework of the above-mentioned objective, initially, the effects of climate change on cities were scrutinized, and then the indicators that could be applied in the assessment of urban vulnerability were determined. Finally, the vulnerability of İstanbul to climate change was evaluated based on the determined indicators.