Social Vulnerability Tools (SVT)
Project Summary
The Social Vulnerability Tools Project (SVT) is funded by the RDPO and managed by Metro. The project identifies which communities in the region experience barriers to emergency services and programs before, during, and after disasters.
Commonly used federal data is limited and often fails to represent the needs of communities that are most vulnerable to disasters and emergencies. The SVT project aims to augment these sources with local data in order to support the needs of vulnerable populations. The project will also help eliminate barriers to diverse populations accessing emergency services before, during, and after disasters. The RDPO will use this data to better tailor its programs and investments to serve community needs and improve equity outcomes.
Equity lens
Equity is at the center of the SVT project. Emergency management partners recognize people are impacted differently by disasters. Moreover, how we measure social vulnerability varies across jurisdictions. Through community engagement, the project will include communities traditionally underserved by emergency management programs to answer questions related to social vulnerability (regionally and locally), barriers to emergency services, the usefulness of demographic data, and gaps in existing data.
Summary of Work
Two trainings have been held for emergency management, human and health services, and GIS professionals, exploring data format and structure, findings, and use cases of the social vulnerability data and indices.
Finalization of datasets for inclusion in the regional and county-specific social vulnerability indices, with a focus on increasing the categorical or spatial detail provided in the Census.
Coordination with local partners to identify available human or health services data, along with methods of aggregation to insure privacy protections.
Development of indices, testing several approaches including inductive and deductive methods (e.g., Susan Cutter’s SoVI and CDC’s SVI respectively).
Literature review of social vulnerability definitions and indices.
Compilation of variables used in existing demographic or vulnerability indices.
Evaluation of definitions and variables with community and technical advisory groups.
Research related to dasymetric GIS methods incorporated into demographic index development, which aims to disaggregate larger Census geographies using ancillary data.
Successful application for funding for recruitment of additional representatives from community-based organizations to serve on the community advisory group in order to increase subject-area and geographic representation.
Successful application for additional funding in order to package SVT outputs into a multi-variable exploratory online visualization tool.
Current Data Points Include
INDIVIDUALS
Under 18 years of age
5 years of age and older with limited English proficiency
Who are students and are Black, Indigenous, or People of Color
Who are students and have limited English proficiency
25 years and over and have not attended college
65 years of age or older
Born outside of the United States
Working in service, natural resources, construction, maintenance, production, transportation, and material moving occupations
With chronic health conditions
With a disability and are not institutionalized
Who are Medicare clients that require residential electricity for in-home health services
Who are Medicare clients that received health care
Living in group quarters
Who have low income (less than two times the federal poverty level)
Who are Black, Indigenous, or People of Color
Who did not self-respond to the 2020 Census
Who are registered voters and did not vote in the 2020 election
HOUSEHOLDS
That receive supplemental security income
That receive public assistance income or food stamps
That earn less than 30% of local area median income and spend more than 30% of income on housing costs
Without access to a vehicle
Without internet access
With one person 65 years of age or older living alone
With five or more family members
AND
Occupied housing units that are rented
CONTACTS
Joe Gordon, Metro, joe.gordon@oregonmetro.gov
