In 2016, Saint Paul-Ramsey County Public Health conducted a vulnerability assessment to understand how public health would be impacted under different climate change scenarios. The assessment determined areas and communities within the county that were especially vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, allowing the county to begin adaptation planning to protect the community.
| Action | Applicable Resources |
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Identified areas in Ramsey County with environmental risk factors
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Determined Base Vulnerability and Hazard-Specific Vulnerability
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Overlaid the climate change hazards onto the base and hazard-specific vulnerability to determine overall vulnerability
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In 2014, the State of Minnesota completed a statewide climate change vulnerability assessment. However, the data was not granular enough for Saint Paul-Ramsey County Public Health to determine their community’s vulnerabilities. To address the lack of specific data, the 2014-2018 Saint Paul-Ramsey County Strategic Plan called for a climate change vulnerability assessment to identify populations and geographic regions within the county that were particularly susceptible to the impacts of climate change.
In 2014, using the State Climate Assessment as a guide, Saint Paul-Ramsey County Public Health decided on the indicators they wanted to evaluate for vulnerability. The health department considered socioeconomic status, age, barriers in communication, mobility, and the number of people who work outside, among others. Land use was then used by the health department as a multiplier to apply the proper weight to each indicator based on if the land was commercial, residential, or vacant.
The health department then analyzed their indicators along with environmental risk factors for extreme heat and poor air quality. The health department wanted to include flooding in their quantitative analysis, however, it had to be excluded due to a lack of flash flood spatial data and digitized mapping of stormwater collection systems. The vulnerability data was then combined with the environmental risk indicators in GIS to pinpoint the geographic areas that would be the most vulnerable. The health department also provided a qualitative analysis on the impacts of changes in precipitation, changing ecologies, and evolving community demographics. They also emphasized the psychological impacts of climate change in the analysis.
To ensure the quality of the report, the health department sent the results to the City of Minneapolis and the Minnesota Department of Health for a review.
In 2018, the health department completed an update of the 2014 vulnerability assessment, which was an initiative identified in the strategic plan. The data were updated and the health department brought in information from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s Social Vulnerability Index, which shows communities the relative level of resilience they have when confronted by external stressors to better assess vulnerabilities. In addition to the written document, the report was also presented via an interactive GIS map to present public health vulnerability to climate change in a more accessible way. Additional updates are underway to get the information out to the community and determine what actions can come out of it.
In 2020, the health department began identifying and evaluating climate change adaptation strategies. Going forward the health department will be working to communicate and engage communities about this work to get feedback and help prepare the communities.
The entire project was locally funded through an Environmental Health Division charge on waste collection called the County Environmental Charge. This funding covered the two interns who worked on the assessment and all necessary software costs.
The entire project took approximately two years. Work on the project stalled during the school year when the interns returned to classes. With a team dedicated to the project full-time, Saint Paul-Ramsey County Public Health officials estimate the project would have taken around a year to complete.
The project addressed equity and justice by identifying vulnerable populations within the county and where they primarily reside. The indicators included income levels, education levels, populations of children under five years and adults over 80 years, those who live alone, and minority status. The results of the assessment showed where vulnerable populations were in the community and how the risks and hazards identified affected those populations and areas.
The assessment helped Saint Paul-Ramsey County Public Health understand how environmental risk factors and specific climate hazards affect their community now and into the future. The assessment identified specific areas in the county that are especially susceptible to the effects of climate change.
The assessment was also used in the engagement process for certain community projects. The health department has used this assessment to work with Environmental Initiative and Clean Air Minnesota to create the Business Pollution Prevention Program, which helps businesses improve air quality by reducing pollutants like volatile organic compounds and perchloroethylene. These pollutants affect the employees of the businesses and the people living nearby. All businesses can apply but priority is given to businesses owned by people of color and/or in vulnerable communities. Free technical assistance is given and financial assistance of up to $50,000 can be given to help transition to safer, more sustainable chemicals, and high-efficiency equipment. As of May 2020, approximately $750,000 has been invested in businesses to improve the health of these communities. The health department would not have known to target these businesses without the vulnerability assessment.
The results of the vulnerability assessment were used during the COVID-19 pandemic to identify vulnerable populations. This was especially important for pandemic planning as data emerged about the disproportionate incidence of disease caused by the COVID-19 virus for Black/African American, Asian, Native American, and Hispanic people in Ramsey County.
The vulnerability assessment was a critical first step to help inform the county about necessary populations to engage while completing climate change adaptation planning. The study allows the health department to talk about climate issues as public health issues, which can be helpful when working with groups that are apprehensive about climate change. Officials talk about the health concerns the community might face because of climate hazards versus placing the focus only on climate change.
The health department expects to continue consulting the vulnerability assessment in future adaptation planning as well as help inform community outreach efforts.
During the project, the biggest challenge was how to get enough granular data to make the assessment meaningful for Ramsey County. A quick solution was GIS mapping, but in some instances, there was still not enough useful data. For example, the health department could not get enough information on flash flooding, which prevented them from assessing flash flooding in a quantitative manner.
Another challenge was staff turnover and leadership changes. Saint Paul-Ramsey County Public Health recommends that other health departments wanting to focus on climate and public health dedicate a full-time position to enable a consistent approach for using the assessment and determining where to invest time and effort to put the results into action. A full-time position could also help elevate the assessment as a useful tool for agencies across the city and county governments to use as well.
“Before developing a vulnerability assessment, it is important to thoughtfully consider how it will be used, including what groups, be they internal or external, it will inform,” said Terese Bordeau, the intern who worked on the project and later became an environmental health specialist for Saint Paul-Ramsey County Public Health.
