Measuring resilience of urban residents in the context of climate change in Ho Chi Minh City

Abstract

Climate change, a pressing global issue, challenges the resilience of residents in megacities. Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), Vietnam, is one of the ten cities worldwide most affected by climate change. Accurately measuring resilience is key to designing and implementing appropriate interventions and policies for the sustainable development of the megacity. This study’s objective is to address the limitations of previous research by applying the PLS-SEM method, the 2nd generation technique, to develop a model for measuring the resilience of urban residents in HCMC, utilizing survey data from 300 households through a stratified sampling strategy. The research findings reveal that the resilience measurement model, based on the disaster adaptation and resilience scale (DARS), is composed of four dimensions with priority (weights): Problem-solving ability (0.363), Physical resources (0.331), Social resources (0.314), and Optimism (0.240). These results provide a foundation for policy recommendations to enhance the resilience of HCMC residents, i.e., training problem-solving skills, investing in sustainable infrastructure, fostering community engagement, and encouraging optimism.