Between risk perceptions and adaptation policies: centering climate justice and social innovation in heat vulnerable cities

This study leverages the roles of climate justice and social innovation in the perceptions of climate risk and climate adaptation policies within the local heat-vulnerable areas of seven Korean metropolitan cities. Using survey and document-based analyses, this work examines residents' perceptions of climate risks and evaluates local climate adaptation plans in the context of climate adaptation policies. Results demonstrate that economic and social fairness aspects and collaborative learning activities played positive roles in enhancing adaptation policies. Further, higher participation as an aspect of social innovation led to heightened climate risk perceptions. Findings imply that social innovation and climate justice features can contribute to triggering risk perceptions as an initial stage for enabling subsequent steps in support of climate adaptation policies.