As we transition to a 21st-century power grid fueled by renewable energy and controlled by electronics, ensuring the reliability and stability of power supplies will be key. In this issue brief, nonresident scholar Julie A. Cohn explores recent developments and historical analogues crucial for a successful grid transition.
Rapid urbanization and expansion of cities in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region has created new opportunities — along with environmental risks, lack of financial and natural resources, and social disparity. In a new issue brief, visiting research scholar Osamah Alsayegh explores how developing smart sustainable cities can bring social and economic benefits to the growing urban population.
By respecting, valuing, and nurturing the brain health of asylum seekers and refugees, we can build healthier, more resilient communities.
Elena Stotts-Lee, William Hynes, Rym Ayadi, Luz Maria Garcini, Fadi Maalouf, Augustin Ibanez, Mohamed Salama, Rachel A. Meidl, Harris A. EyreMarch 21, 2024
Seventy years after Mexican women gained the right to vote, two women are running for the presidency in 2024. Concerted legislative reform has built on women’s suffrage — aiming to achieve equal representation for women — but there is more work to be done.
Can urban design impact our brain health? This issue brief explores how cities can be redesigned to improve our mental well-being and promote healthy aging.
Is the electric grid ready for the era of decarbonization? Nonresident scholar Julie A. Cohn explains why new inverter technology could prove vital for preventing outages and grid instability.
With the 2023 debt-ceiling negotiations under way, a new issue brief from John Diamond, director of the Center for Public Finance, and Autumn Engebretson looks at the effectiveness of the Budget Control Act 2011, enacted in response to the 2011 debt-ceiling crisis. Did it in fact control the budget? And could similar legislation work now?
John W. Diamond, Autumn EngebretsonFebruary 16, 2023
This issue brief highlights the potential collaboration between Arab countries and China in dealing with the global energy transition, and examines the energy transition from the perspectives of the world's largest economy (China) and richest hydrocarbon region (the Middle East).
Political, market and geopolitical headwinds have slowed down Biden’s ambitious climate plans, write energy experts Anna Mikulska and Michael Maher. In this brief, they explore why progress on decarbonization is likely to be more gradual than initially envisioned.