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34 <br /> <br />them strong stewards for neighborhoods, parks, and trails. If a disaster forces San <br />Leandro residents from their homes, social networks will be broken, and the diverse <br />culture of the region will change. <br />San Leandro’s economy relies on service, labor, creative, and professional workers. <br />The Bay Area economy is unique in that it is home to one of the fastest growing and <br />most innovative economic sectors in the world. If a disaster impedes the ability of <br />employees of any sector to stay in the region or get to work, the impact will cascade <br />beyond individual businesses and be felt not just across the region, but globally. <br />Employees from all sectors are needed to support one of the strongest and most <br />specialized economies in the world. <br />People are a critical asset for the functioning of a community and the economy; <br />without residents a jurisdiction loses its tax base and employers lose employees and <br />customers. More importantly, jurisdictions lose the culture, vibrancy, and sense of <br />cohesiveness that make it unique. People are the nexus of a resilient community, <br />and many other assets are designed to serve and support people. <br /> <br />3.4.1 SOCIAL VULNERABILTY <br />Social vulnerability describes characteristics that make people less able to adequately <br />withstand and adapt to a hazard, such as limited mobility, income, and educational <br />attainment. Social vulnerabilities are largely independent of the hazard type and can <br />be applied similarly to any type of disaster. <br />Unlike other asset classes like buildings and infrastructure, the vulnerability of people <br />is not just due to physical characteristics but rather social characteristics that make <br />them less able to adequately withstand and adapt to a hazard. People are also highly <br />dependent upon the physical environment that they are surrounded by; community <br />members are much more vulnerable if the buildings and infrastructure that they live <br />in, work in, and rely upon fail. <br />In 2015, ABAG and BCDC published Stronger Housing, Safer Communities, a report <br />that identified ten primary indicators that represent characteristics of individuals and <br />households that affect their ability to prepare for, respond to, and recover from a <br />disaster.1 These indicators collectively present a picture of a community’s <br />vulnerability to stressors. Concentration of these indicators, or areas with multiple <br />indicators, can inhibit the recovery of a community. Key themes that emerged <br />included age-related vulnerabilities, language and ethnicity vulnerabilities, cost- <br /> <br />1 ABAG and BCDC, 2015 <br />73