Wind disasters adaptation in cities in a changing climate: A systematic review

comeback in 2015. The past four years (2016–2019) included all the nine topics. Considering the cumulative total number of studies, we find that vulnerability and adaptation in the back- ground of climate change (topic 1) have been the focus of studies in the past five years (from 2015 to 2019). The risk and hazard assessment of floods in cities (topic 5) has become the sec- ond most popular topic since 2018. Some of these nine topics are intrinsically linked together, and they reflect a segment that contributes to successful adaptation. We further categorized the nine topics into the following four aspects: 1) vulnerability and resilience of cities, 2) damage evaluation, 3) response and recovery, and 4) health impacts. The evaluation of urban vulnerability is the starting point of designing adaptation measures. Because it examines the necessity to take actions and detects the most vulnerable parts. The ultimate goal of adaptation is to reduce vulnerability and increase resilience. Decision-makers can generate a more concrete idea about what negative consequences wind disasters have on cities by evaluating damages. The results are useful for cost assessment in pre-feasibility studies for adaptation projects. Health impacts are singled out to differentiate impacts on objects and impacts on humans, as the latter cannot be mea- sured directly in monetary terms. The response and recovery of cities will most directly reveal how cities adapt to wind disasters, including cities’ post-disaster strengthening projects. Two

categories directly related to the design of urban adaptation measures are the vulnerability of cities and reconstruction projects after wind disasters, which include 55 publications and 51 publications, respectively. Damage evaluation contains the most topics, and the number of publications under this aspect amounts to 90, indicating that current scientific studies are more focused on modeling, identifying, and assessing actual or possible consequences and damages. Studies related to health impacts are limited and contain the least number of articles. It indicates that health impacts are not yet well emphasized and require further attention. Vulnerability and resilience of cities. Coastal areas are becoming more prone to wind- related storms and floods in the context of climate change [53–55]. The concentration of popu- lations and properties [56], the dependence on coastal agriculture [57], the inequalities embed- ded in the socioeconomic system [58], and the reduction in areas of the ecosystem increase the vulnerability of coastal cities [59]. Besides, coastal storms and floods, along with resulted sec- ondary hazards, are causing injuries and mental problems and increasing health vulnerability [60]. Fig 4. Annual distribution of topics for publications between 2009 and 2019. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0248503.g004 PLOS ONE Review on wind adaptation in cities PLOS ONE | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0248503 March 17, 2021 8 / 26