In Korea, rural regions increasingly function as peri-urban zones integrated into urban systems. To assess vulnerabilities in these transitional areas characterized by mixed land use and uneven access to infrastructure, this study developed a three-tiered peri-urban livability vulnerability framework by integrating the analytic hierarchy process and the entropy weight method. The results indicated that medical facilities, childcare and education centers, and village communities consistently emerged as key indicators, linking peri-urban livability directly to the stability of settlement environments and the quality of life of residents. Contrastingly, expert evaluations and data-driven outcomes related to road networks and agricultural infrastructure displayed substantial discrepancies, revealing gaps between perceived importance and actual provision levels. Such differences highlight the risk of underestimating infrastructure-related vulnerabilities when subjective assessments are employed exclusively. By synthesizing subjective and objective weights, this study advances urban and environmental analysis and supports evidence-based decision-making for policy prioritization. The findings demonstrate that peri-urban vulnerability is shaped less by productive capacity than by social infrastructure and community stability. This conclusion offers crucial insights for enhancing livability and guiding urban planning strategies.

The risk of wildfires is increasing due to rising temperatures and worsening dry conditions resulting from climate change (Westerling et al., 2008; Vilà-Vilardell et al., 2020). Human activities, driven by urbanization and population growth, contribute to the occurrence of wildfires. As wildfires are a consequence of the complex interplay of various factors, an integrated understanding of the social and ecological systems influencing wildfires is crucial for protecting human communities and preserving the natural environment. Particularly, the Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI), an area where urban and natural landscapes and vegetation coexist or are adjacent, represents a space where the interaction between human activities and natural systems is pronounced (Stewart et al., 2007). A specific and clear analysis and management of the WUI’s social-ecological system is necessary due to the severe damage caused by urban wildfires.There is a growing awareness of the necessity to establish effective prevention and management strategies to protect urban systems. However, there is a lack of research on social-ecological systems over time, such as before and after wildfires in the WUI. Therefore, the objective of this study is to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the socio-ecological system of urban WUI areas, with a focus on identifying and evaluating the factors influencing the resilience of these systems. By examining the interactions within the WUI’s socio-ecological framework, the research aims to propose strategies for enhancing the capacity of urban areas to adapt to and recover from environmental disturbances, thereby contributing to the development of robust and resilient urban social-ecological systems.To define and categorize socio-ecological systems, a spatial analysis of wildfire-prone areas was employed and to identify and evaluate the factors affecting the resilience of the system in response to wildfires, system analysis tools and models were utilized.Building upon this study, future research will employ the Urban Resilience Index classification to derive strategies for each type of green infrastructure planning based on the 4Rs of resilience (robustness, rapidity, redundancy, and resourcefulness) to improve urban socio-ecological resilience for wildfire response in urban Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI). The results can be utilized to develop a green infrastructure planning decision support system.ReferencesWesterling, A. L., & Bryant, B. P. (2008). Climate change and wildfire in California. Climatic Change, 87(Suppl 1), 231-249.Stewart, S. I., Radeloff, V. C., Hammer, R. B., & Hawbaker, T. J. (2007). Defining the Wildland-Urban Interface. Journal of Forestry, 105(4), 201-207.Sullivan, A., Baker, E., & Kurvits, T. (2022). Spreading like wildfire: The rising threat of extraordinary landscape fires.※ This work was supported by the Core Research Institute Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Education (NRF-2021R1A6A1A10045235).

Intensifying urban heatwaves pose escalating risks to public health, ecosystem stability, and urban livability, yet existing urban heatwave policies continue to produce limited and short-lived outcomes (Siyu Yu et al., 2024). These recurring policy failures suggest not a lack of interventions, but structural mismatches between dominant policy logics and the underlying social–ecological dynamics that generate heat risk (Chen et al., 2024).This study aims to explain why urban heatwave response policies repeatedly stall in many high-density inner-city contexts and examines in a smaller set of cities, by focusing on high-density inner urban areas as a representative urban type, thereby identifying where policy interventions must be directed to enable a transition toward long-term, transformative urban heatwave resilience. The study analyzes urban heatwave resilience as a social–ecological system, classifies dominant policy approaches based on their system intervention points, and derives key leverage points associated with Blue–Green Infrastructure (BGI).A systems-based analytical framework grounded in the Social–Ecological System (SES) approach and Causal Loop Diagramming (CLD) was applied. Comparative policy analyses were conducted across high-density cities where heatwave policies have remained largely incremental—Seoul (South Korea), Tokyo (Japan), Hong Kong (China), and Paris (France)—and contrasted with cities exhibiting relatively different policy trajectories, including Singapore and Melbourne (Australia).Core reinforcing and balancing feedback loops shaping heatwave risk were identified, and dominant policy logics were mapped onto these loops to diagnose structural limitations. Meadows’ leverage points framework and concepts of transformative resilience were then applied to interpret system-level intervention pathways.The analysis revealed that in most high-density cities heatwave policies primarily intervened in downstream outcome variables, leaving reinforcing feedback related to land use, governance fragmentation, and social vulnerability largely intact. In contrast, cities exhibiting more adaptive trajectories showed consistent interventions at higher leverage points, including planning rules, institutional coordination, information flows linking climate data to decision-making, and mechanisms of social self-organization. While no city fully resolved urban heat risk, these higher-level interventions enabled partial systemic shifts, notably in the feedback structures governing BGI integration and urban heat exposure mitigation. The contrast across cases demonstrates that differences in policy effectiveness are better explained by intervention location within the system than by policy intensity or quantity.This study provides a structural explanation for divergent urban heatwave policy trajectories in high-density cities and reframes BGI as a transformative lever embedded within urban social–ecological systems rather than a supplementary adaptation measure. The findings offer policy-relevant insights for redirecting heatwave governance from incremental, outcome-oriented responses toward system-level interventions that support long-term, equitable urban resilience. ※ Acknowledgement: This work was supported by Korea Environment Industry &Technology Institute (KEITI) through "Climate Change R&D Project for New Climate Regime.", funded by Korea Ministry of Environment (MOE) (RS-2022-KE002123).

Climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of hazards such as heatwaves, heavy rainfall, and wildfires worldwide. As hazards interact and occur in sequence, cascading and compounding impacts are becoming more common, particularly under disturbance regimes where chronic pressures and acute shocks co-occur and reorganize system states through feedbacks and time lags. Similar patterns are emerging in Korea, calling for an integrated framework that links press–pulse dynamics with Pressure–State–Response relationships to identify actionable intervention points. Nature-based solutions are promising for reducing compound disaster risk, but their effectiveness depends on where and how extensively they are implemented. A resilience-oriented synthesis is therefore needed to translate spatial NbS scenarios into clear strategy packages.This study aims to explain, under press–pulse dynamics, how global climate change scenarios intensify interactions among single hazards within Korea’s social–ecological system and how these interactions expand into compound disaster risk through cascading and compounding pathways. It also aims to restructure variables and causal pathways using a Pressure–State–Response framing in order to identify key regulating factors and priority intervention points. The identified intervention points are operationalized into NbS implementation scenarios that reflect hotspots and exposure-weighted priorities. The effects of these scenarios are then verified through model-based quantitative assessment. Finally, the study organizes which of the four resilience dimensions are embedded in each NbS scenario or are most clearly strengthened and proposes combinable NbS strategy packages aligned with implementation stages.This study examines how climate change scenarios intensify interactions among single hazards within Korea’s social–ecological system and how these interactions expand into compound disaster risk through cascading pathways. Variables and causal pathways are reorganized using a Pressure–State–Response framework to identify key regulating factors and priority intervention points. These intervention points are translated into national-scale, stepwise NbS land-use and land-cover scenarios based on hotspot and exposure-weighted prioritization under explicit transition rules and constraints. Scenario effects are evaluated using multiple InVEST models and FlamMap, with performance assessed through hotspot and exposure-weighted metrics rather than national means. Results are then synthesized to indicate which resilience dimensions are embedded or most pronounced across scenarios, and combinable NbS strategy packages are proposed across implementation stages.The compound-disaster causal loop model indicates that the coupling of chronic pressures and acute shocks strengthens inter-hazard linkages and activates cross-scale feedbacks, yielding cascading and compounding impacts in Korea’s social–ecological system. Across hazard types, priority intervention points converge on land-cover structure, hydrological regulation, surface and soil conditions, slope stability, and catchment connectivity. Model-based assessments show that NbS scenarios can reduce hazard risks while generating co-benefits in ecosystem services, particularly in hotspot and high-exposure areas. These effects can be organized into resilience-oriented strategy packages, emphasizing robustness through strengthened regulating functions, redundancy through distributed blue–green networks, resourcefulness through multifunctional NbS portfolios, and rapidity through designs and operations that support faster functional recovery and limit lag-driven amplification.This work was supported by Korea Environment Industry &Technology Institute (KEITI) through "Climate Change R&D Project for New Climate Regime.", funded by Korea Ministry of Environment (MOE) (RS-2022-KE002123).

Thermal comfort indices, such as the Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI), are crucial for assessing outdoor thermal conditions and their impacts on human health, especially during extreme heat events (Saud Ghani et al., 2021). While UTCI has been widely used in urban studies, its application in rural areas characterized by high proportions of elderly residents, outdoor workers, and limited infrastructure remains underexplored (Park, Jongchul, et al., 2020). As heatwaves become more frequent and severe due to climate change, identifying priority areas for thermal environment improvements in rural regions is essential to enhancing outdoor comfort and resilience (Korea Rural Economic Research Institute, 2023).The purpose of this study is to identify priority areas for improving heatwave resilience in rural areas. This study analyzed the relationship between thermal comfort indices and land cover to provide a basis for climate-adaptive spatial planning. It also assessed social vulnerability using statistical indicators that account for socio-demographic factors influencing heatwave resilience.Using Jeollanam-do, South Korea, as a case study, this research systematically analyzed vulnerability by employing approaches to assess both thermal comfort and social vulnerability. Jeollanam-do is highly vulnerable due to its predominantly agricultural economy and significant elderly population, making it a critical region for heatwave-related research. To evaluate thermal comfort, the UTCI was calculated using ERA5 Mean Radiant Temperature (MRT) data, combined with air temperature, humidity, and wind speed data from weather stations. Social vulnerability was assessed through indicators such as the percentage of elderly population and the availability of healthcare services, which were normalized and integrated to provide a comprehensive analysis of rural heatwave vulnerability.Research findings revealed that Gangjin-gun, a coastal region in Jeollanam-do, was identified as the most vulnerable area due to high UTCI levels and significant social vulnerabilities, including a high proportion of elderly residents and insufficient welfare infrastructure. To address these challenges, proposed strategies include expanding healthcare services, implementing welfare policies tailored to the elderly, and adopting climate adaptation measures such as cooling centers, heatwave warning systems, and smart farming. Additionally, climate-adaptive spatial planning is emphasized, focusing on green-blue infrastructure solutions such as rain gardens, wetlands, tree-lined streets, and shaded community spaces to improve outdoor comfort and strengthen long-term resilience.These findings highlight the importance of integrating thermal comfort indices, land-use analysis, and socio-demographic factors into rural spatial planning. Tailored strategies that address environmental and social vulnerabilities can improve rural resilience to heatwaves while contributing to effective climate-adaptive spatial plans, ensuring that vulnerable communities are better prepared for future climate challenges. This work was supported by Korea Environment Industry &Technology Institute (KEITI) through "Climate Change R&D Project for New Climate Regime.", funded by Korea Ministry of Environment (MOE) (RS-2022-KE002123) This work was carried out with the support of "Cooperative Research Program for Agriculture Science and Technology Development (Project No. PJ0171102022)" Rural Development Administration, Republic of Korea