Exploring the climate change, infrastructure, health nexus and everyday adaptation among vulnerable populations
Merrill Singer, Amy Rosenthal, Stav Shapira, S. Natour, Idan Porat, Maya Negev
Abstract
Despite the strong relationship between climate change, infrastructure, and health outcomes, the impacts of climate change on infrastructure and on health are commonly studied separately. The current study addresses this gap by examining the pathways through which critical infrastructures impact climate-related health risks among vulnerable individuals and the everyday adaptation practices they adopt in response. Data from ten focus groups (n = 69 participants) with vulnerable Jewish and Bedouin residents of urban and rural environments in the Negev region of Israel were systematically coded and analyzed. Participants identified categories of public and private physical and service-related infrastructure that were vulnerable to climate change, the pathways through which climate-infrastructure interactions affected health outcomes, and the ways in which participants navigated these risks. These findings highlight the direct and cascading pathways through which the malfunction or absence of critical public and private infrastructures impact the climate-related health risks that vulnerable individuals experience and the practices they adopt to cope with these effects. The results imply that understanding critical infrastructures' failures and individuals’ subsequent coping mechanisms are key to explaining and addressing climate vulnerability. • Climate, infrastructure, health risks impact vulnerable desert residents. • Infrastructure failures increase health risks through direct and cascading pathways. • Individuals use everyday and long-term adaptation to navigate infrastructure gaps. • Family and community ties are crucial adaptation resources. • Supporting everyday adaptation entails boosting individual and community capacity.