Disparities of urban morphology effects on compound natural risks: a multiscale study across the USA

Multiple natural hazards stem from interactions within social-ecological systems. Understanding the associations between hazard risks and urban environments is crucial for developing climate mitigation and adaptation strategies. Here, we adopt multilevel regression models to investigate the effects of urban morphologies on the compound risk of natural hazards, leveraging extensive datasets across 3031 counties and 68,623 census tracts in the USA. Results demonstrate that concentrated development does not inherently increase disaster risk while partially validating the efficacy of open space management. The interaction analysis further reveals that disaster risks are significantly intensified in densely populated areas proximate to city centers. Connecting dense buildings with transportation routes can enhance the effectiveness of hazard mitigation. Our findings highlight the societal needs for integrating urban design at various spatial scales for enhancing urban resilience to disasters. The spatial variations observed in the urban morphology effects on compound natural risks have significant implications for formulating context-specific risk mitigation and adaptation strategies.