EnvClim Grids: Global Urban Environmental Vulnerability and Climate Risk, 500m Resolution (circa 2020–2050)

OVERVIEW: EnvClim Grids is a global geospatial dataset characterizing current environmental vulnerability and future climate risk for urban populations, with a focus on lower- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The dataset covers 11,422 urban centers worldwide, as defined by the Global Human Settlement Urban Centres Database (GHS-UCDB 2024), including all cities with ≥50,000 residents. A novel socioeconomic vulnerability layer is included for cities in 91 LMICs, identifying neighborhood-scale “low SES” areas based on higher building density and lower road connectivity relative to similar-sized cities nationally. The dataset integrates 17 global public datasets into 7 indicators of current environmental vulnerability (unsafe air pollution, warm spells, extreme heat, water scarcity, hurricane-force winds, storm surge flooding, seasonal river/surface flooding) and 6 indicators of projected future climate risk (2050, SSP2-RCP4.5) (extreme heat, water scarcity, hurricane-force winds, storm surge flooding, seasonal river flooding, and landslide susceptibility). All indicators are harmonized to a ≈500×500 m grid for comparability across cities, enabling analysis of intersecting socioeconomic and environmental vulnerabilities at the sub-city level where data coverage allows. City-level and national summaries can be generated to support adaptation planning, risk prioritization, and investment targeting. GEOGRAPHIC COVERAGE: Global — 190 countries, 11,422 urban centers (GHS-UCDB 2024 boundaries) SPATIAL RESOLUTION: ~500 × 500 meters TEMPORAL COVERAGE: Current environmental vulnerability: 2010–2022 (indicator-specific time ranges) Future climate risk projections: circa 2050 (SSP2-RCP4.5 scenario) DATA SOURCES: Global Human Settlement Urban Centres Database (GHS-UCDB, 2024); OpenStreetMap; Overture Maps Foundation Building Footprints; Williams et al. (2024) Extreme Heat and WBGT projections; He et al. (2021) Water Scarcity; Gahtan et al. (2024) Cyclone Winds (IBTrACS); Dullaart et al. (2022) Storm Surge Flooding; Pekel et al. (2016) Surface Water Occurrence; Dottori et al. (2016) Riverine Flooding; Shen et al. (2024) PM2.5 Air Pollution; Emberson et al. (2020) Landslide Susceptibility; Additional datasets listed in the Methods section of the related publication. FILE CONTENTS cities_fishnet_final.gpkg – Geopackage with all indicators at 500 m resolution EnvClim-Grids-data-dictionary.pdf – Documentation of indicators, sources, and processing steps METHODOLOGICAL SUMMARY: City Boundaries: Defined using GHS-UCDB 2024. Socioeconomic Vulnerability: Derived from City Segments Layer v1, classifying segments with higher building density and lower road connectivity as low SES. Current Environmental Vulnerability: Seven binary indicators derived from best-available global datasets. Future Climate Risk: Six binary indicators based on downscaled projections for 2050 under SSP2-RCP4.5. Integration: Indicators harmonized to 500 m grids and overlaid to identify populations exposed to multiple, compounding vulnerabilities and risks. LIMITATIONS: Designed for global and national comparisons; local application requires in-country validation. Some indicators (e.g., flash flood risk) are not globally available and may underestimate certain hazards. SES vulnerability layer is only available for 91 LMICs with sufficient road and building data coverage. RECOMMENDED CITATION: Thomson, Dana R., Martinez, Juan F., Liu, E Jen, and de Sherbinin, Alex. 2025. EnvClim Grids: Global Urban Environmental Vulnerability and Climate Risk, 500m Resolution (circa 2020–2050). Harvard Dataverse. https://doi.org/10.7910/DVN/[DOI-TBD].

概述：EnvClim Grids是一套全球地理空间数据集，旨在表征城市人口当前的环境脆弱性与未来气候风险，研究重点为中低收入国家（lower- and middle-income countries，简称LMICs）。本数据集覆盖全球11422个城市中心，其划定标准源自《全球人类住区城市中心数据库（Global Human Settlement Urban Centres Database，简称GHS-UCDB 2024）》，包含所有常住人口≥5万的城市。数据集针对91个中低收入国家的城市新增了社会经济脆弱性图层，基于相对于全国同规模城市更高的建筑密度与更低的道路连通性，识别邻里尺度的“低社会经济地位（Socioeconomic Status，简称SES）”区域。本数据集整合17项全球公开数据集，生成7项当前环境脆弱性指标：不安全空气污染、热浪、极端高温、水资源短缺、飓风级大风、风暴潮洪水、季节性河流/地表洪水；以及6项2050年未来气候风险指标（SSP2-RCP4.5情景）：极端高温、水资源短缺、飓风级大风、风暴潮洪水、季节性河流洪水、滑坡敏感性。所有指标均统一至约500×500米的网格以实现跨城市可比性，支持在数据覆盖允许的亚城市层面开展社会经济与环境脆弱性的交叉分析。此外，可生成城市级与国家级汇总数据，用于支撑适应规划、风险优先级排序与投资靶向工作。
地理覆盖范围：全球——覆盖190个国家的11422个城市中心（边界采用GHS-UCDB 2024划定标准）
空间分辨率：约500×500米
时间覆盖范围：当前环境脆弱性指标：2010-2022年（各指标对应专属时间范围）；未来气候风险预测：约2050年（SSP2-RCP4.5情景）
数据来源：全球人类住区城市中心数据库（GHS-UCDB，2024）；开放街道地图（OpenStreetMap）；Overture Maps Foundation建筑足迹数据集；Williams等人（2024）极端高温与湿球黑球温度（Wet Bulb Globe Temperature，简称WBGT）预测成果；He等人（2021）水资源短缺数据集；Gahtan等人（2024）气旋大风（IBTrACS）数据集；Dullaart等人（2022）风暴潮洪水数据集；Pekel等人（2016）地表水体分布数据集；Dottori等人（2016）河流洪水数据集；Shen等人（2024）PM2.5空气污染数据集；Emberson等人（2020）滑坡敏感性数据集；相关论文方法章节中列出的其他数据集。
文件内容：cities_fishnet_final.gpkg——包含所有500米分辨率指标的地理数据包（Geopackage）；EnvClim-Grids-data-dictionary.pdf——指标、数据来源与处理步骤的说明文档。
方法学概述：城市边界：采用GHS-UCDB 2024划定标准。社会经济脆弱性：源自City Segments Layer v1数据集，将建筑密度更高、道路连通性更低的街区分类为低社会经济地位区域。当前环境脆弱性：从现有最优全球数据集衍生的7项二分类指标。未来气候风险：基于SSP2-RCP4.5情景下2050年降尺度预测得到的6项二分类指标。指标整合：将所有指标统一至500米网格并叠加，以识别暴露于多重复合脆弱性与风险的人口。
局限性：本数据集旨在支撑全球与国家级比较分析；本地应用需开展境内验证。部分指标（如山洪风险）尚未实现全球覆盖，可能低估部分灾害风险。社会经济脆弱性图层仅适用于拥有充足道路与建筑数据覆盖的91个中低收入国家。
推荐引用格式：Thomson, Dana R., Martinez, Juan F., Liu, E Jen, and de Sherbinin, Alex. 2025. EnvClim Grids: Global Urban Environmental Vulnerability and Climate Risk, 500m Resolution (circa 2020–2050). Harvard Dataverse. https://doi.org/10.7910/DVN/[DOI-TBD]