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People residing in the char regions of Assam are among the most vulnerable in the state, and particularly susceptible to multiple disasters such as floods, storms, and land erosion. Despite the existing vulnerabilities and widespread poverty, people continue to live in these areas. Our research aims to investigate why people continue to reside in these areas in such conditions and explore the feasibility of relocation as a possible solution to catastrophe risk mitigation, considering people's perceptions of living in these locations. This study uses a mixed method's approach to achieve its objectives, based on primary data, collected through a household survey and focus group discussions. A total of 394 char residents from four districts of Assam participated in data collection. The Contingent Valuation Method (CVM) has been applied to understand residents' living preferences. Additionally, we used regression models to determine the factors influencing char residents' preference for living in these vulnerable areas. Our findings reveal that while most people prefer to live in the char areas, the risks of multiple disasters are driving some to consider leaving, exacerbated by infrastructure bottlenecks. However, char dwellers do not view relocation as a desirable solution. Alternatively, improving infrastructure and reducing disaster risks could lead to higher-levels of development and satisfaction for char residents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract People residing in the char regions of Assam are among the most vulnerable in the state, and particularly susceptible to multiple disasters such as floods, storms, and land erosion. Despite the existing vulnerabilities and widespread poverty, people continue to live in these areas. Our research aims to investigate why people continue to reside in these areas in such conditions and explore the feasibility of relocation as a possible solution to catastrophe risk mitigation, considering people's perceptions of living in these locations. This study uses a mixed method’s approach to achieve its objectives, based on primary data, collected through a household survey and focus group discussions. A total of 394 char residents from four districts of Assam participated in data collection. The Contingent Valuation Method (CVM) has been applied to understand residents' living preferences. Additionally, we used regression models to determine the factors influencing char residents' preference for living in these vulnerable areas. Our findings reveal that while most people prefer to live in the char areas, the risks of multiple disasters are driving some to consider leaving, exacerbated by infrastructure bottlenecks. However, char dwellers do not view relocation as a desirable solution. Alternatively, improving infrastructure and reducing disaster risks could lead to higher-levels of development and satisfaction for char residents.

Tourism gentrification in traditional industrial areas presents issues regarding the privatization of public spaces, transformation of public services to cater to tourists, erosion of community social bonds, and the commodification of regional consumption, which has far-reaching impacts on residents' stress and their desire to relocate. This study aims to understand the impact of tourism gentrification from residents' perspectives with a case study of the 798 Industrial Art Zone in Beijing, China. Using Q methodology, residents living in the community (N = 20) were involved in the interviews. The finalized statements (N = 26) were derived from the interviews. Based on the stress threshold theory, the results revealed four factors that influence residents' stress: neighboring environment, community attachment, economic interest, and cultural identity. This study further proposes a framework with four dimensions (i.e., environmental, relational, economic, and emotional) to explain the relocation decision-making of residents in traditional industrial areas due to stress from interactions with migrants and visitors, and changes to the place-functions of industrial regions and communities. This study is the first to conceptualize tourism gentrification in traditional industrial areas by elucidating the residents' stress. It provides practical guidance for policymakers and destination marketing organizations for promoting the sustainable development of industrial tourism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the influence of spatial effect and demographic characteristics on postdisaster households' relocations at the block group level. Data for 479 block groups were collected in the city of New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina. The explanatory variables were transformed into five uncorrelated principal components using principal component analysis and spatial autocorrelation of the relocation decision of households tested using Moran's I index. The results indicate households' decisions exhibit significant spatial clustering. A better statistical fit was found for spatial lag regression than standard linear regression and other spatial models. Four statistically significant components influencing the block group level percentage of relocated households were identified. Specifically, places characterized by a greater proportion of the population with higher income population and out-of-county employment are more likely to experience high rates of relocation. In addition, family ties and place attachment had significant negative effects on the rate of block group-level relocation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Existing studies on disaster-risk management from the humanistic perspective have focused on disaster-risk perception as the starting point and ignored the important role of risk communication in shaping individual risk perception and changing behavioural responses. Taking Sichuan Province―a typical disaster-prone province in China―as an example and selecting rural residents in mountainous areas threatened by multiple disasters as interviewees, this study measured the characteristics of interviewees' disaster-risk communication in the four dimensions of content preference, channel selection, communication frequency and communication form, and appraised the levels of their disaster-risk perceptions in the four dimensions of possibility, threat, self-efficacy and response efficacy. Additionally, econometric models were used to explore the chain of disaster-risk communication, perceptions and relocation decisions in different scenarios in the context of multiple disasters. The results revealed two main findings. (1) In the scenario where social relations promoted the relocation decision, interviewees derived their relocation decisions by two action paths: disaster-risk communication indirectly influenced relocation decisions through risk perception and disaster-risk communication directly influenced relocation decisions. For the indirect action path, the disaster-risk communication of interviewees had a significant impact on their risk perceptions, and self-efficacy and response efficacy played effective roles in their relocation decisions. For the direct action path, some channels of access to information and indicators of the communication form were significantly correlated with the relocation decision. (2) In the relocation-decision scenario promoted by the government, interviewees derived their relocation decision only by their disaster-risk communication. In risk communication, some channels of access to information and the communication forms of residents were significantly correlated with their relocation decisions, while the role of disaster-risk perceptions was ineffective. • The path of 'risk communication.→ perception → relocation decision' was verified. • The path of 'risk communication.→ relocation decision' was also verified. • Risk communication played a significant role on relocation decision. • Risk perceptions worked on relocation decision driven by social relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The relationship of form, use, and density in urban development and their influence on human behavior and travel is a key element of many land use and transport policies. Prior research indicates high-density urban development leads to decreased travel and thus sustainable mobility; however, personal attitudes seem to have greater effect on mobility than does the urban form. This research evaluates how households consider transit-oriented development (TOD) characteristics in their location decisions with regard to new Mandurah railway line stations opened in December 2007 in Perth, Western Australia. The results indicate that the choice of residence reflects neighborhood and housing attributes, with significant heterogeneity in the populations of the three precincts in terms of their valuation of various housing characteristics, proximity to urban facilities, and transport. There is also significant variation in households’ attitudes to natural and artificial environments. A better understanding of the complex relationships among environment, travel, socio-demographic characteristics, and household attitudes can help transport planners leverage the benefits of TOD and improve the quality of urban design and community life. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]