Research Library

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.

Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) evaluations impact firms' market value, but inconsistencies and uncertainties in these assessments suggest that following past practice may not be the best way forward. The future lies in a more focused version of ESG principles, one that resembles environmental risk management.

At least a dozen countries, including the U.S., have suspended funding to the United Nations agency that delivers aid to Palestinian refugees. The cuts fit a long-time pattern of the politicization of refugee aid, write Nicholas R. Micinski and Kelsey Norman.

Introduction

Car-based transportation in the United States began in the early 20th century. Before that, the country was…

Will 2024 be another chaotic year in U.S. foreign policy? From Ukraine to the Israel-Hamas war, fellow Joe Barnes reviews the major challenges President Joe Biden faced in 2023 and what they could mean for the November election.

“Nearly one billion travelers pass through U.S. airports each year,” writes Alicia L. Johnson, civic science postdoctoral associate. In a new commentary, she outlines how the CDC’s genomic surveillance program, which monitors airport wastewater for traces of infectious disease, must balance public health and privacy concerns.

The deepening conflict in Gaza reveals the risk of being a global power. It’s time for us to substantially reduce U.S. commitments around the world — or dramatically increase the resources we commit to defending our far-flung interests, writes fellow Joe Barnes.

Supply chains: what are the alternatives if climate change restrictions on transiting the Panama Canal become a regular occurrence?

Ukraine's counteroffensive may be disappointing to date, but Ukrainian forces maintain the initiative.