Diagnosing urban flood resilience and built-environment adaptation priorities in Henan Province, China

Purpose This study develops a multi-criteria framework to assess relative urban flood resilience, temporal change and built-environment adaptation constraints across 18 municipal-level units in Henan Province, China. Design/methodology/approach Seventeen indicators covering natural, economic, social and infrastructure dimensions were evaluated for 2011, 2016 and 2021. Analytic Network Process and Entropy Weight Method weights were integrated through game-theoretic combination weighting. VIKOR–Grey Relational Analysis was applied to 54 pooled municipal-year observations, and the compromise score was transformed into a positively oriented flood-resilience score (FRS = 1 - Q). Obstacle-factor analysis, numerical verification of the implemented equations, an EWM-only comparison and VIKOR preference-parameter sensitivity tests assessed robustness. Findings Mean FRS increased from 0.1325 in 2011 to 0.2431 in 2016 and 0.3551 in 2021. Zhengzhou ranked first throughout, whereas Hebi and Jiyuan remained among the lower-ranked units. Recurring diagnostic constraints included V11, V5, V14, V4 and V6. Numerical verification reproduced the final Q values within floating-point precision. Rankings remained highly consistent under EWM-only weighting and the V12-exclusion specification but were more sensitive under ANP-only weighting and extreme VIKOR preference-parameter values. Practical implications The findings support differentiated attention to municipal fiscal capacity, drainage networks, knowledge resources and development-infrastructure coordination. Obstacle degrees are relative diagnostic signals, not causal effects or absolute safety standards. Originality/value The study integrates combination weighting, compromise ranking, grey relational adjustment, obstacle diagnosis and explicit robustness testing within a documented diagnostic workflow.