Unequal adaptation: socioeconomic stratification in short-term mobility responses to wildfire hazards in Spain
Mason, Matt ; Noel, Sophia ; Rosenquist Ohlsson, Lovisa LU
; Salim, Zarmeen
; Conte Keivabu, Risto
; Perrotta, Daniela
and Sanliturk, Asli Ebru
(2026)
- Abstract
- Wildfires pose hazards for humans through fire proximity and smoke exposure, and are expected to pose increasing risks due to climate change. Existing literature has not extensively inquired how wildfires affect short-term mobility as an adaptive response to these events. We use digital trace mobility data from the Spanish Ministry of Transportation to examine how proximity to wildfires and consequent air pollution due to wildfires affect short-term mobility in mainland Spain from 2022 to 2024. Additionally, we examine the differing impact of wildfires on mobility by the intensity of exposure and leverage district level income data provided by the Spanish Statistical Institute (INE) to inquire about stratified responses. We find evidence... (More)
- Wildfires pose hazards for humans through fire proximity and smoke exposure, and are expected to pose increasing risks due to climate change. Existing literature has not extensively inquired how wildfires affect short-term mobility as an adaptive response to these events. We use digital trace mobility data from the Spanish Ministry of Transportation to examine how proximity to wildfires and consequent air pollution due to wildfires affect short-term mobility in mainland Spain from 2022 to 2024. Additionally, we examine the differing impact of wildfires on mobility by the intensity of exposure and leverage district level income data provided by the Spanish Statistical Institute (INE) to inquire about stratified responses. We find evidence for wildfire related short-term displacement uniquely among the upper quartile of income at the district level, and that this displacement is also visible at less acute exposure levels. Similarly, we observe that exposure to wildfire-related PM 2.5 is associated with short-term displacement only among upper quartile income districts. Our findings highlight the relevance in existing spatial and socioeconomic inequalities in shaping adaptive capacity to environmental hazards. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/690f6f3b-82ab-450c-bfd9-8f652cccbda4
- author
- Mason, Matt
; Noel, Sophia
; Rosenquist Ohlsson, Lovisa
LU
; Salim, Zarmeen
; Conte Keivabu, Risto
; Perrotta, Daniela
and Sanliturk, Asli Ebru
- organization
- publishing date
- 2026-05
- type
- Working paper/Preprint
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- Spain, Wildfire, Mobility, Hazard, PM2.5
- pages
- 27 pages
- publisher
- Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research
- DOI
- 10.4054/MPIDR-WP-2026-023
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 690f6f3b-82ab-450c-bfd9-8f652cccbda4
- date added to LUP
- 2026-05-28 10:35:20
- date last changed
- 2026-05-28 13:39:01
@misc{690f6f3b-82ab-450c-bfd9-8f652cccbda4,
abstract = {{Wildfires pose hazards for humans through fire proximity and smoke exposure, and are expected to pose increasing risks due to climate change. Existing literature has not extensively inquired how wildfires affect short-term mobility as an adaptive response to these events. We use digital trace mobility data from the Spanish Ministry of Transportation to examine how proximity to wildfires and consequent air pollution due to wildfires affect short-term mobility in mainland Spain from 2022 to 2024. Additionally, we examine the differing impact of wildfires on mobility by the intensity of exposure and leverage district level income data provided by the Spanish Statistical Institute (INE) to inquire about stratified responses. We find evidence for wildfire related short-term displacement uniquely among the upper quartile of income at the district level, and that this displacement is also visible at less acute exposure levels. Similarly, we observe that exposure to wildfire-related PM 2.5 is associated with short-term displacement only among upper quartile income districts. Our findings highlight the relevance in existing spatial and socioeconomic inequalities in shaping adaptive capacity to environmental hazards.}},
author = {{Mason, Matt and Noel, Sophia and Rosenquist Ohlsson, Lovisa and Salim, Zarmeen and Conte Keivabu, Risto and Perrotta, Daniela and Sanliturk, Asli Ebru}},
keywords = {{Spain; Wildfire; Mobility; Hazard; PM2.5}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Working Paper}},
publisher = {{Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research}},
title = {{Unequal adaptation: socioeconomic stratification in short-term mobility responses to wildfire hazards in Spain}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.4054/MPIDR-WP-2026-023}},
doi = {{10.4054/MPIDR-WP-2026-023}},
year = {{2026}},
}