ABSTRACT
Vulnerability explains why not all people are impacted by a hazard the same way. It is closely related to the idea of resilience. Three things shape vulnerability: exposure, sensitivity, and the ability to adapt. Vulnerability science is the application of the scientific process to characterize each of these elements and to learn how harm can be reduced. Historically, vulnerability science developed to understand how climate change would affect human communities. Today, vulnerability scientists are interested in mitigating harm to a wide variety of things including people’s health, nature and ecosystems, property and markets, social relations, cultural practices, and more.
