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SoVi® Evolution

Changes in SoVI®

SoVI® 2010–14 marks a change in the formulation of the SoVI® metric from earlier versions. New directions in the theory and practice of vulnerability science emphasize the constraints of family structure, language barriers, vehicle availability, medical disabilities, and healthcare access in the preparation for and response to disasters, thus necessitating the inclusion of such factors in SoVI®. Extensive prior testing of SoVI®, along with the introduction of the U.S. Census Bureau’s five-year American Community Survey estimates, permits changes to the SoVI® recipe, resulting in an overall more robust metric.

The tables below detail modifications in the base variables used to compute SOVI®. These tables listed in chronological order describe the current version of SoVI® with its 29 variable set for counties (Table1), and changes from the original 32-variable set used in 2000 (Table 2). The variable set is the same for both county-level analyses and tract-level analyses with two exceptions: in county analyses QMORTBRDN is omitted, and for census tract analyses HOSPTPC is omitted but everything else stays the same maintaining N=29 input variables. 

As vulnerability science evolves, no doubt SoVI® will as well. Future directions for SoVI® include the consideration of pets, homeless populations, physical mobility constraints, prescription drug dependence, and social capital all at finer spatial scales.

Table 1 List of SoVI® Variables (n=29). 

Daggers indicate new variables added since 2010.

Variable Description
QASIAN Percent Asian
QBLACK Percent Black
QHISP Percent Hispanic
QNATAM Percent Native American
QAGEDEP Percent Population under 5 Years or 65 and Over
QFAM † Percent Children Living in 2-Parent Families
MEDAGE Median Age
QSSBEN Percent Households Receiving Social Security Benefits
QPOVTY Percent Poverty
QRICH Percent Households Earning over $200,000 Annually
PERCAP Per Capita Income
QESL Percent Speaking English as a Second Language with Limited English Proficiency
QFEMALE Percent Female
QFHH Percent Female Headed Households
QNRRES Nursing Home Residents Per Capita
HOSPTPC Hospitals per Capita (County Level ONLY) 
QNOHLTH † Percent of Population without Health Insurance
QED12LES Percent with Less than 12th Grade Education
QCVLUN Percent Civilian Unemployment
PPUNIT People per Unit
QRENTER Percent Renters
MDHSEVAL Median Housing Value
MDGRENT Median Gross Rent
QMOHO Percent Mobile Homes
QEXTRCT Percent Employment in Extractive Industries
QSERV Percent Employment in Service Industry
QFEMLBR Percent Female Participation in Labor Force
QNOAUTO † Percent of Housing Units with No Car
QUNOCCHU † Percent Unoccupied Housing Units
QHSEBRDN † Percent of All Households Spending More than 40% of Their Income on Housing Expenses (Tract Level ONLY)

 

Table 2:  Thirty-two original SoVI® variables, descriptions, and changes in SoVI® 2000

Variable Description Changes from SoVI®2000 to SoVI®2006-10
QASIAN Percent Asian
QBLACK Percent Black
QSPANISH Percent Hispanic Renamed QHISP
QINDIAN Percent Native American Renamed QNATAM
QKIDS Percent Kids Omitted and replaced by QAGEDEP=Percent of population under 5 years and 65 or older
QPOP65O Percent of Population over 65 Omitted and replaced by QAGEDEP
MEDAGE Median Age
QSSBEN Percent Social Security Beneficiaries Percent of Households Receiving Social Security Benefits (formerly Individuals)
QPOVTY Percent Poverty
QRICH Percent Households Earning over $100,000 annually Percent of Households Earning over $200,000 (formerly $100,000)
PERCAP Per Capita Income
QMIGRA Percent of Foreign Born Who Are Recent Migrants Omitted and replaced with QESL=Percent Speaking English as a Second Language
QFEMALE Percent Female
QFHH Percent Female Headed Households
NRRESPC Nursing Home Residents per Capita Modified to QNRRES=Percent of Population Living in Nursing and Skilled-Nursing Facilities (formerly computed as per capita)
HOSPTPC Hospitals per Capita Omitted at Block Group and Tract Levels
PHYSICN Number of Physicians per 10,000 People Omitted
QED12LES Percent with Less than 12th Grade Education
QCVLBR Percent in Civilian Labor Force Omitted
QCVLUN Percent Civilian Unemployment
QURBAN Percent Urban Population Omitted
QFRM Percent of Population on Rural Farms Omitted
PPUNIT People per Unit
QRENTER Percent Renters
HODENT Housing Density Omitted
MHSEVL Mean Housing Value Omitted and replaced by MDHSEVAL (Median House Value)
MCRENT Mean Contract Rent Omitted and replaced by MDGRENT (Median Gross Rent)
QMOHO Percent
QAGRI Percent Employment in Extractive Industries Renamed QEXTRCT
QSERV Percent Employment in Service Industry
QTRAN Percent Employment in Transportation & Public Utilities Omitted
QFEMLBR Percent Female Participation in Labor Force

 


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