International Arctic Research Center, University of Alaska Fairbanks, PO Box 75734, Fairbanks, AK, 99775-7340, USA.
Institute of Social and Economic Research, University of Alaska Anchorage, 3211 Providence Dr., Anchorage, AK, 99509, USA.
Ambio. 2024 Mar;53(3):389-405. doi: 10.1007/s13280-023-01951-z. Epub 2023 Nov 13.
Currently, more than half of the world's human population lives in urban areas, which are increasingly affected by climate hazards. Little is known about how multi-hazard environments affect people, especially those living in urban areas in northern latitudes. This study surveyed homeowners in Anchorage and Fairbanks, USA, Alaska's largest urban centers, to measure individual risk perceptions, mitigation response, and damages related to wildfire, surface ice hazards, and permafrost thaw. Up to one third of residents reported being affected by all three hazards, with surface ice hazards being the most widely distributed, related to an estimated $25 million in annual damages. Behavioral risk response, policy recommendations for rapidly changing urban environments, and the challenges to local governments in mitigation efforts are discussed.
目前，全球超过一半的人口居住在城市地区，这些地区越来越受到气候灾害的影响。人们对多灾害环境如何影响人类，特别是生活在高纬度地区城市的人们，知之甚少。本研究调查了美国阿拉斯加州最大的城市中心安克雷奇和费尔班克斯的房主，以衡量与野火、地表冰害和永久冻土融化相关的个人风险感知、缓解响应和损害。多达三分之一的居民报告受到这三种灾害的影响，地表冰害分布最广，估计每年造成 2500 万美元的损失。讨论了行为风险响应、针对快速变化的城市环境的政策建议，以及地方政府在缓解工作方面面临的挑战。
