Resilience to Socio-environmental Global Challenges

This project examines how Global Changes - including environmental and climate changes, demographic changes, changing consumption patterns, energy and land-use, developments in the politics of food and mental health, and socio-cultural transformations - impact mobility. Specifically, we aim to model social tipping points by utilizing techniques from geographic information systems (GIS) and synthesizing existing geographical, earth science and longitudinal datasets. We also apply a governance of crisis approach to understand how diverse policy areas ranging from sustainable development and disaster risk reduction to health, food, and climate change might be bridged with larger policy frameworks to understand and predict mobility patterns. The project conducts two human- centric case studies of social tipping points: (1) food security and belonging and (2) cultural survival and resilience. These case studies provide new ways of looking at how climate (im-)mobilities and their social tipping points are shaped by socio-cultural contexts and the psycho-social health of populations. Drawing on natural sciences like climate and sustainability studies and on the social sciences of political science, sociology, psychology, economics and anthropology, the project adds to the interdisciplinary diagnostic and prognostic toolbox of Global Change and mobility as well as vulnerability and resilience assessments. This research project utilizes a wide evidence base - from Europe and the Middle East to Africa and South America - to ensure maximum comparative and global impact of its findings. This research project examines the societal and environmental aspects of Global Change and (im-)mobilities to help leaders and the most vulnerable members of societies to understand, adapt and thrive.