LAUSR

Abstract. The social and economic dimensions are only two of the dimensions of vulnerability. This paper aims to review the various case study areas, hazards, methods, spatial variables/indicators/indexes and tools addressed and used in the spatial assessment of socio-economic vulnerability in the period between 2008 and 2018. This review was conducted in December 2018. For the purposes of this study, Clarivate Analytics was the primary source of information. The gross number of articles reviewed was 235. We found 42 highly relevant articles, 27 articles of medium relevance, 15 of low relevance and 151 of no relevance. However, only 21 articles containing content considered highly relevant were included in the final analysis. The highest numbers of case study areas for the spatial analysis of socio-economic vulnerability are in China, the US, India and Germany. Most of the articles that consider the spatial dimension in the assessment of socio-economic vulnerability are related to floods. The Social Vulnerability Index (SoVI®) remains the benchmark for the assessment of socio-economic vulnerability. In the spatial assessment of socio-economic vulnerability, urban facilities are the most frequent variables, and population density is the most common indicator. The Social Vulnerability (SV) index and Spatial Vulnerability Units (SVU) are benchmarks of what it is a spatial index to evaluate socio-economic vulnerability in the urban context. In summary, we identified 21 spatial variables, 19 spatial indicators and four spatial indexes. Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Remote Sensing (RS), statistical analysis and programming languages are tools used by the scientists for the assessment of socio-economic vulnerability. Nevertheless, after the review, we can conclude that it is not sufficient to only estimate the specific level of vulnerability per unit area; it is also necessary to determine the influence of the spatial component in this degree of socio-economic vulnerability.