Protection Proportional to Need? Measuring Governance Barriers to Equitable Heat Adaptation Delivery in Seoul

Although heatwaves are increasingly framed as an adaptation justice challenge, urban governments still struggle to demonstrate that protective measures reach those most in need. Seoul is a revealing case in point. While district-level exposure to heat waves in 2022 was relatively uniform (9–11 days on average), the average rate of heat-related illnesses from 2022 to 2024 varied by a factor of more than six (from 0.63 to 3.82 cases per 100,000 residents). Furthermore, the linkages between exposure and outcome, as well as between spending and outcome, were weak (heatwave days vs. illness: r≈0.26; district budgets vs. illness: r≈−0.03). This suggests a structural disconnection between hazard, resource allocation, and realized protection. 
To move beyond plan-based accounting, we developed an equity-informed governance framework that treats "adaptation gaps" as empirically observable delivery failures and organizes barriers across three dimensions: Effectiveness (access and protective performance); Authority and Resources (discretion, staffing, budget, and analytical support); and Communication and Perception (awareness, information access, feedback, and participation channels). We operationalize these dimensions using mixed instruments: (1) a citywide citizen survey (n = 500; adults aged 20–69) measuring perceived access sufficiency, policy benefits, awareness, and willingness to participate, and (2) a structured survey and semi-structured interviews with frontline district officials (n ≈ 6) to triangulate administrative constraints. 
By aligning the conditions of implementers with the experiences of beneficiaries, the study provides a measurement approach for diagnosing where and why equitable delivery of heat adaptation breaks down within standardized administrative routines. The study also highlights leverage points for improving monitoring, feedback, and targeted adjustments in urban heat policy.