ABSTRACT
This chapter examines how local decision-makers in Atlanta and Jinhua perceive of vulnerable populations to climate change, and whether they are generally aware that climate impacts are unevenly distributed. In both countries, sociodemographic and economic factors (percentage of minorities, occupation, lower economic prosperity and educational attainment) are seen as factors linked to vulnerability. The dominant assessments do not dig deep enough by not asking why lower socioeconomic status corresponds with higher vulnerability. In terms of local political practices, the chapter finds a significant difference between what the vulnerability assessments portrayed and the actual awareness about climate change and adaptation needs, especially regarding the exposure of particular groups in society. In both cases, political bias toward certain populations persists, and though the problem recognition about the social dimension of vulnerability was quite different in Atlanta and Jinhua, little overall sensitivity on the issue stands out. The last part of the chapter analyzes the lock-ins, which help to explain the findings. The dominant lock-ins detected are related to knowledge and politics. Past-dependent-knowledge patterns, and processes of sense-making, coupled with the way political institutions operate can explain low-problem recognition about the social aspects of adaptation and vulnerability maintenance. These types of lock-ins become especially evident with regard to the limited access vulnerable people have in shaping the dominant discourses on vulnerability.
