Thinking rationally about settlement abandonment in a changing climate

The World Bank's PeopleMove blog is hosting my latest posting, on the topic of settlement abandonment, which I've co-written with Elizabeth Fussell of Brown University's Population Studies & Training Center. Here's a sample paragraph from our posting as a teaser; if you are interested in reading more, please click the link below.

In a world of 7 billion people, habitable space is scarce. Locations with the reliable freshwater supplies, fertile soils, and energy sources needed to support dense populations are limited. Technological innovations like agriculture, fossil fuels, irrigation, and air conditioning expanded the human habitat; but unless some as-yet unrealized technological revolution of similar magnitude emerges, the spatial extent of our habitat has reached its maximum. It will now shrink because of climate change.

Please click here to go to the full posting, hosted by the World Bank's PeopleMove blog spot.

Abandoned house at Pink, Oklahoma. Photo R. McLeman.