The rising economic cost of floods in the United States cannot be explained solely by monetary inflation or growth in coastal populations. Damaging flood events are also influenced by the way society plans for and physically develops its communities, influencing where structures and impervious surfaces are concentrated and how hydrological systems are altered. We analyze 383 nonhurricane flood events in Florida counties between 1997 and 2001 to isolate how planning decisions and their effects on the built environment affect property damage caused by floods. Our results suggest that alteration of naturally occurring wetlands significantly increases the property damage caused by floods, all else equal. Also, nonstructural methods such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Community Rating System, while providing inexpensive means of reducing property damage directly, may also indirectly encourage more development in hazardous areas.

This research aims at assessing land suitability for large-scale agriculture using multiple spatial datasets which include climate conditions, water potential, soil capabilities, topography and land management. The study case is in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, in the UAE. The aridity of climate in the region requires accounting for non-renewable sources like desalination and treated sewage effluent (TSE) for an accurate and realistic assessment of irrigated agriculture suitability. All datasets were systematically aggregated using an analytical hierarchical process (AHP) in a GIS model. A hierarchal structure is built and pairwise comparisons matrices are used to calculate weights of the criteria. All spatial processes were integrated to model land suitability and different types of crops are considered in the analysis. Results show that jojoba and sorghum show the best capabilities to survive under the current conditions, followed by date palm, fruits and forage. Vegetables and cereals proved to be the least preferable options. Introducing desalinated water and TSE enhanced land suitability for irrigated agriculture. These findings have positive implications for national planning, the decision-making process of land alteration for agricultural use and addressing sustainable land management and food security issues.

Mass gatherings for sporting events, music shows, and religious needs continue to grow in our urban areas, requiring local authorities to develop safety procedures to mitigate the challenges of keeping the attendees safe. These challenges are even more pronounced at pilgrimage venues where social distancing and contact avoidance are difficult as pilgrims are required to perform various rituals in close proximity with others, in a sequential manner, either daily or weekly, as per their religious tenets. Over two million pilgrims attend the Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia annually. Keeping the local and visiting pilgrims safe from crowd crush, sunstroke, skin infections, recurrence of prior medical issues, and contagious diseases requires the Saudi government to allocate huge investments for health communication and prevention programs every year. However, there is no evidence to date that has empirically tested whether Hajj pilgrims’ are able to receive such information and are subsequently adopting various health promoting behaviors. This study aims to do that by framing it within the Health Belief Model. Data collected and analyzed from 245 pilgrims in Makkah between September 9th-19th, 2017 suggests that roughly 48% of the pilgrims adopted all five protective measures. However, language barriers, limited health care facilities, and difficulties in purchasing prescription mediciens were cited as impediments to adopting healthy measures. The study concludes with recommendations for the KSA government agencies, Hajj authorities, Mission authorities and pilgrims, during various phases of travel-- i.e. pre-travel, during the pilgrimage and post-travel, in light of new emerging health threats.