Sigrun Kabisch, Prof. Dr., head of the Department of Urban and Environmental Sociology at the Helmholtz-Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ, Leipzig (Germany), professor for Urban Geography at the University of Leipzig. Anna Kunath, research assistant at the Department of Urban and Environmental Sociology at the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research-UFZ, Leipzig (Germany). Petra Schweizer-Ries, Prof. Dr., junior professor in Environmental Psychology at the University of Magdeburg (Germany), professor in Environmental Psychology at the Saarland University, and professor in Sustainability Science at the University of Applied Science, Bochum (Germany). Annett Steinfuhrer, Dr., researcher at the Institute of Rural Studies at the Johann Heinrich von Thunen Institute (vTI), Braunschweig/Brunswick (Germany).

Table of Contents
Preface
Introduction
Vulnerability, Risks and Complexity: Impacts of Global Change on Human Habitats by Sigrun Kabisch et al.
I Reflections on Vulnerability and Risks in Complex Environments
Infectious Diseases as New Risks for Human Health by S. Harris Ali
Urban Vulnerability Under Conditions of Global Environmental Change: Conceptual Reflections and Empirical
Examples From Growing and Shrinking Cities by Christian Kuhlicke et al.
Rethinking People-Environment Relations With Interdisciplinary and Transdisciplinary Contributions by Roderick J.
Lawrence
II Coping with Climate Change and Natural Hazards
Adaptation to Climate Change by Coastal Communities by Amalia Fernandez-Bilbao
Residents' Usage of, Adjustment to, and Evaluation of Donated Post-Disaster Housing by Rachma M. Syam and
Ryuzo Ohno
Representations of Climate Change by Water Managers by Elisabeth Michel-Guillou
Flood Hazards, Urban Waterfronts, and Cultural Heritage by Heiko Lieske
III Social Dimensions of Vulnerability and Risks
The Social Dimension of Forest Fires: Risk, Responsibility, and Participation by Ricardo García-Mira et al.
Housing Development and Vulnerability Reduction in Informal Railway Settlements in Bangkok by Rittirong
Chutapruttikorn and Peter Kellett
Shifting Local Vulnerabilities due to Housing Expansion: Case Study in the Colonial City of Seremban Municipality
Area, Malaysia by Shaharudin Idrus et al.
On the Relationship Between Crime in Residential Areas and Street Segment Attributes by Antônio Tarcísio Reis
and Celina Dittmar
Social Vulnerability and Resilience of Young People: A Pilot Study in Fortaleza, Brazil by Zulmira Á. Cruz Bomfim et al.
IV Participation and Strategies of Risk Reduction
Participation: The Silver Bullet for the Acceptance of Renewable Energies? by Irina Rau et al.
Confronting Ignorance: Coping With the Unknown and Surprising Events in the Remediation of Contaminated
Sites by Alena Bleicher and Matthias Gross
Structural Change in Former Mining Regions: Identifying Potentials and Building Capacities by Jörn Harfst et al.
V Strengthening Pro-Environmental Behavior
Does Binding Communication Increase Consideration of Future Consequences and Decision-Making Concerning
Pro-Environmental Behaviour? by Christophe Demarque et al.
The Role of Individual Differences in Promoting Pro-Environmental Behavior by Dóra Medvés and Judit Kovács
Mental Representations of Nature: The Importance of Well-Being by Kathrin Röderer and Renate Cervinka
Biodiversity, Perceived Restorativeness, and Benefits of Nature: A Study on the Psychological Processes and
Outcomes of On-Site Experiences in Urban and Peri-Urban Green Areas in Italy by Massimiliano Scopelliti et al.
VI Place Making and Urban Design
The Meaning of Place: Spontaneous Memorials in a Changing Urban Landscape by Mats Lieberg
Effective Common Place Design Implied by Behavioural Evidence: Fresh Perspectives on Facility Management
Research Promoting Environmentally Friendly University Campuses by Fahed A. Khasawneh et al.
Responding to Complex Urban Challenges With Integrated Research in Education: Case Study of a Master
Programme in Urban Design by Ombretta Romice
Authors
Index

This volume offers state-of-the-art research on the interrelations between the
social, built, and natural environments.
It will be useful to scholars in cross-cutting areas of urban, hazard, planning, governance,
and sustainability research in relation to socio-psychological perspectives.
Readers will benefit from new theoretical as well as empirically based research
findings in the emerging field of social-science vulnerability studies.

- The contributions in this volume cover six broad research fields:

- Reflections on vulnerability and risks in complex environments
- Coping with climate change and natural hazards
- Social dimensions of vulnerability and risks
- Participation and strategies of risk reduction
- Strengthening pro-environmental behavior
- Place making and urban design
The volume includes papers investigating human habitats within a variety of
settlement structures and settings that are negatively affected by extreme weather
events, natural hazards, infectious diseases, contaminations, or crime; as well as empirical
case studies describing ways to strengthen environmentally sound behavior
and how people behave in specific conditions, e.g., in post-disaster settlements. The
focus of the book is on the necessity of studying vulnerability, risks, and complexity
as expressions of the impact that global change has on human habitats. These
include not only climate and hazard impacts but also new socio-demographic
trends and regional economic developments that influence people's quality of life
and their capacities to cope with global change.