The Demography of Flood Vulnerability in Chicago and Neighboring Counties

GIS User
GIS Instructor
Student
Management
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Published

October 21, 2025

Presentation Type: Presentation (30 minutes)

Skill Level: Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced

Intended Audience: GIS User, GIS Instructor, Student, Management, Other

Abstract

As regional susceptibility to flooding varies spatially, the identification of regions more susceptible to flooding is critical to informing the implementation of stormwater management in urban areas. Moreover, local vulnerability to the negative effects of flooding differs across populations and their socioeconomic characteristics such that identifying regions vulnerable to disproportionate suffering associated with flood risk is a key component in implementing equitable stormwater management practices. This presentation discusses associations between social vulnerability factors at the census-tract level in Chicago, Illinois and its neighboring counties and a locally derived flood susceptibility index that characterizes flood risk. Data used in this study includes a social vulnerability index (SVI) developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to characterize local social vulnerability factors. Also used in this study is a flood susceptibility index (FSI) recently developed by the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP), which relies on reported flood locations and physical characteristics for mapping regional susceptibility to flood hazard, to characterize local flood risk. Results of the study indicate that social vulnerability factors, especially the percentage of limited English speakers and the percentage of the population who are minorities, are associated with increased flooding risk in the region.

Presenter(s)

Michael Sansone

Research Assistant, Illinois Institute of Technology

Michael Sansone is a Research Assistant at the Illinois Institute of Technology’s (IIT) Department of Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering and a former Research Aide with the Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory, Energy Systems and Infrastructure Analysis Division. He is currently pursuing a coterminal Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering and a Master of Engineering in Urban Systems Engineering at IIT. Michael’s interests include spatial data analysis, hydrology, and urban planning.