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We explored the linkages between socioeconomic and demographic factors, relocation preference, and settlement associated with China's Poverty Alleviation Relocation Program. Using multivariate ordinal logistic regression, panel data modeling, and multilevel methods, we found that outdated infrastructure at places of origin, such as long distances to paved roads or elementary schools, increased the probability of relocation, and the presence of left-behind household members at the origin compromised re-settlement. This study sheds light on the community- and household-level factors that influence relocation preference and settlement, offering valuable insights for future research and informing the design and implementation of relocation projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate risks are growing. Research is increasingly important to inform the design of risk‐management strategies. Assessing such strategies necessarily brings values into research. But the values assumed within research (often only implicitly) may not align with those of stakeholders and decision makers. These misalignments are often invisible to researchers and can severely limit research relevance or lead to inappropriate policy advice. Aligning strategy assessments with stakeholders' values requires a holistic approach to research design that is oriented around those values from the start. Integrating values into research in this way requires collaboration with stakeholders, integration across disciplines, and attention to all aspects of research design. Here we describe and demonstrate a qualitative conceptual tool called a values‐informed mental model (ViMM) to support such values‐centered research design. ViMMs map stakeholders' values onto a conceptual model of a study system to visualize the intersection of those values with coupled natural‐human system dynamics. Through this mapping, ViMMs integrate inputs from diverse collaborators to support the design of research that assesses risk‐management strategies in light of stakeholders' values. We define a visual language for ViMMs, describe accompanying practices and workflows, and present an illustrative application to the case of flood‐risk management in a small community along the Susquehanna river in the Northeast United States. Plain Language Summary: Individuals, organizations, businesses, and governments face difficult choices about how to adapt to the changing climate. Research can help by, for example, providing insights about future climate conditions or showing how potential courses of action may play out under those conditions. But like all decisions, climate adaptation decisions are fundamentally driven by values. What do people want to achieve through adaptation? There are many answers to this question, and different people may care about different things. Research that evaluates possible adaptation outcomes on grounds different from what people actually care about may be useless or even harmful. To design good research on adaptation strategies, we need to collaborate with stakeholders, communicate across disciplines, and strike the right balance with practical limitations on time, resources, and scientific feasibility. In this article, we present a framework for designing climate‐risk research that looks at policy options from the perspective of stakeholders by focusing on aspects of the potential outcomes that matter to those stakeholders. A key component of the approach is collaborative system diagramming to build shared understanding of the problem and relevant science. A second component is careful review of interviews or focus groups to identify stakeholders' values and make clear how those values intersect with the study system and any scientific modeling of that system. We demonstrate the approach using an example about flood risk. Key Points: Assessing risk‐management strategies inherently imposes a value perspective on climate researchWe suggest assessing potential outcomes of strategy implementation from the perspective(s) of those potentially affectedWe propose a qualitative framework and workflow for building stakeholders' values into scientific assessment of impacts and outcomes [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Addressing contemporary environmental and social crises requires solutions-based, systems-level changes. To achieve these changes, transdisciplinary research approaches are needed to align problem framing with solution deployment at landscape scales. However, practical frameworks to guide this work are lacking. Here we propose a new framework to help bridge this gap: regenerative landscape design (RLD). We define RLD as a process for finding pattern-based solutions, emphasizing cooperative, iterative, and facilitated engagement for the co-production of locally relevant knowledge for desirable landscape stewardship. To do so, we review how key components of RLD (e.g., landscapes, design thinking, and regenerative processes) have been differentially and unevenly applied in disciplines ranging from resilience, landscape ecology, geography, architecture, agriculture, sociology, tourism, and more. We then put forward research considerations of a RLD approach to enhance social and environmental well-being. We use two emerging case studies (i.e., Chesapeake Bay Watershed, Pennsylvania, USA and Narok County, Kenya) to put forward pathways for implementation of the RLD strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent decades, the Asian tiger mosquito expanded its geographic range throughout the northeastern United States, including Pennsylvania. The establishment of Aedes albopictus in novel areas raises significant public health concerns, since this species is a highly competent vector of several arboviruses, including chikungunya, West Nile, and dengue. In this study, we used geographic information systems (GIS) to examine a decade of colonization by Ae. albopictus throughout Pennsylvania between 2001 and 2010. We examined the spatial and temporal distribution of Ae. albopictus using spatial statistical analysis and examined the risk of dengue virus transmission using a model that captures the probability of transmission. Our findings show that since 2001, the Ae. albopictus population in Pennsylvania has increased, becoming established and expanding in range throughout much of the state. Since 2010, imported cases of dengue fever have been recorded in Pennsylvania. Imported cases of dengue, in combination with summer temperatures conducive for virus transmission, raise the risk of local disease transmission. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]