Flooding and injustice in Ningbo, China

Abstract Flooding induced by sea level rise, intense rainfall events, land subsidence, and storm surges adversely impacts coastal cities worldwide. Flooding events are understood to disproportionately affect places, communities, and individuals that are already socioeconomically disadvantaged, while various flood mitigation and prevention actions may inadvertently deepen existing injustice by further redistributing flood risk to marginalised groups. The specific dynamics of these processes in China remain poorly understood. This article examines the dynamics of flooding and injustice in Ningbo, a major Chinese coastal city that is among the top 20 cities globally in terms of flood exposure. By identifying who is affected, who is protected, and who may bear more of the risks from adaptation actions, the article reveals the uneven nature of flooding impacts and protection measures in Ningbo and the intersection with social injustice in Chinese cities. We detail how residents’ living locations, socioeconomic attributes, past flood experiences and different adaptation actions shape the dynamics of flood injustice and identify how some residents benefit from flood protection interventions, while others are excluded, thus heightening their vulnerability to flooding. Our analysis speaks to flood (in)justice in coastal cities worldwide by showing how social inequalities shape flood risk.