Building-level physical vulnerability in Europe: Exterior vs interior indicators and GIS–BIM approaches for multiple-hazard risks: A systematic review

Abstract

This paper presents a systematic literature review of building-level physical vulnerability indicators in Europe, with a specific focus on the distinction between exterior and interior indicators and on the role of Building Information Modelling (BIM) and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in assessment workflows. This study identifies existing gaps in the literature in regard to (i) the systematic integration of interior and exterior vulnerability indicators, (ii) pragmatic interoperability between GIS and BIM in assessment workflows, and (iii) more transparent weighting and validation procedures to improve transferability and comparability across different hazards and contexts. Across 26 peer-reviewed scientific publications (2000–2025), we extracted 121 indicators and analysed their use by hazard type, indicator location (interior/exterior), digital tools (GIS/BIM), weighting, and validation process. Most assessments rely on exterior indicators (e.g., material, number of floors, roof type, openings), while only three of the included studies explicitly incorporate interior indicators. GIS is widely used for data collection, mapping, and spatial analysis of vulnerable buildings. At the same time, BIM has so far been rarely leveraged despite its potential to capture interior characteristics and component-level detail needed for robust building-level assessments. The hazards most frequently addressed are landslides, floods, and dynamic flooding, whereas heatwaves – despite their high historic mortality rates in Europe – remain underrepresented. Indicator weighting approaches vary (expert-based, statistical, multi-criteria), and empirical validation is limited. These identified gaps show potential future research directions.