Potential risk sites and their relationship with dengue cases, Campinas municipality, Southeast Brazil

Journal article

Water security is a multi-faceted concept that encompasses dimensions such as water quantity, quality, human health, well-being, water hazards, and governance. The evaluation of water security is an important step towards understanding and improving it, particularly in urban settings where disparities resulting from unequal distribution of population and resources are present and often evade citywide assessments. To address the diversity of the urban space, we propose a multi-level assessment approach based on downscaling the spatial dimension. Using a comprehensive indicator-based framework, we evaluate the city of Campinas in Brazil across citywide and intra-city scales. Employing the Theil index to measure inequality, the results reveal nuanced disparities less apparent at broader scales. Despite an overall favourable water security condition, spatial heterogeneity is still noticeable in the urban area of Campinas. The methodology highlights different aspects, such as vegetation cover, social green areas, and wastewater collection, which are inequitably distributed in the urban area. This integrated approach, linking inequality and water security assessment, has the potential to unveil specific needs within urban areas, helping guide targeted interventions to improve water security levels for all.

Authors: Mendes, JA; Vanwambeke, SO

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Public Library of Science
• Journal: PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases
• Volume: 17
• Issue: 4
• Pages: e0011237-e0011237
• Publication date: 2023-04-27
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0011237
• EISSN: 1935-2735
• ISSN: 1935-2727
• Language: English
• Keywords: Geography; Demography; Veterinary medicine; Virology; Incidence (geometry); Aedes; Aedes aegypti; Dengue virus; Ecology; Biology; Environmental health; Christian ministry; Medicine; Dengue fever; Mathematics; Toxicology