ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on vulnerability as a condition and state of being actively produced by social and ecological factors such as deepen over time for individuals or communities; be leveraged for multiple reasons when mitigation or adaptation is pursued at multiple scales; and potentially diminish through social and policy decisions made at local to global scales. Four elements describe the elements and connections of Utica's socio-ecological system. First, the urban ecosystem has biological and physical components that rationalize Utica's existence historically. Second, human population and industrial development is an important analytical element at the community level that describes changing characteristics of the urban population changed over time and space. Third, emphasis on local knowledge underscores the importance of humans as agents of influence in this landscape and the socio-natural knowledge they acquire in order to address threats and create opportunities for the future. Finally, rights and resources refer to how the city's institutions manage and maintain this urban ecosystem.
