The year 2020 is illuminating important differences in the geography of vulnerability. People across the United States have had vastly different experiences of COVID-19 and the many societal stresses exacerbated by or directly resulting from the pandemic. Geographers have the capacity to integrate local and population-scale research, yet examples of this type of integration are rare among studies of vulnerability.

During this meeting, the National Academies’ Geographical Sciences Committee will examine the geography of vulnerability in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and consider potential next steps that could be taken to advance the capacity to characterize, predict, and alleviate vulnerability.

COVID-19 and the Geography of Vulnerability October 27, 2020 | 1:30 - 4:30 PM EDT Fall 2020 Meeting Geographical Sciences Committee Register Now Featuring Keynote Talk by Dr. Eric Tate, Associate Professor, University of Iowa Social Vulnerability and Place-based Risk And including panelists: Dr. Elisabeth Root, Professor, Ohio State University Identifying Vulnerability from the COVID-19 Data: What is Possible and What is Missing?     Dr. Peter Smittenaar, Director of Data Science and AI, Surgo Foundation COVID-19 Community Vulnerability Index: Capturing the Geographical Dimensions of Vulnerability