Research.

My research aims to understand how climate change interacts with human societies, how people may adapt to climate impacts, and how climate adaptation measures can be designed and implemented in a just and equitable way. Because of the complexity of climate and society interactions, my research is highly interdisciplinary, and I strive to connect methods, disciplines, and researchers from across geographies and fields. 

Environmental Migration in Bangladesh

My dissertation work combines research in earth science, social science, and computational modeling to understand how changing environmental and livelihood conditions impact migration decisions in coastal Bangladesh. I have developed an original agent-based model that combines environmental shocks with livelihood activities and behavioral psychology theories to understand the complex dynamics of migration decisions. 

Climate Gentrification in the U.S.

I am interested in exploring how climate change interacts with urban resilience and equity in the United States. I am currently the Principal Investigator of a cross-institutional and interdisciplinary project of graduate students supported by the National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center (SESYNC). Our project uses existing datasets and unsupervised machine learning to identify typologies of combined climate, socioeconomic, and housing vulnerabilities along the U.S. East Coast. 

Equity in Disaster Impacts and Response in the U.S.

As part of my postdoctoral training in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Maryland, I have a series of projects investigating equity in disaster and climatic effects as well as disaster aid and response. I am leading the investigation of how future sea-level rise scenarios may result in disproportionate isolation of minority communities along the U.S. coast. Initial results highlight a previously unidentified concern for community vulnerability to sea-level rise, with implications for justice in adaptation and infrastructure resilience. 

Latest Publications

1. “Statistical learning to identify salient factors influencing FEMA Public Assistance outlays” Ghaedi, H., Best, K., Reilly, A., Niemeier, D., Natural Hazards https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-024-06620-2 (2024)
2. “Under-reported and under-served: Disparities in U.S. disaster federal aid-to-damage ratios after hurricanes” Waters, L., Best, K., Miao, Q., Davlasheridze, M., Reilly, A., International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2024.104430 (2024)
3. “Demographics and risk of isolation due to sea level rise in the United States” Best, K.B., He, Q., Reilly, A.C., Niemeier, D., Anderson, M., Logan, T., Nature Communications https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-43835-6 (2023)
4. “Rent affordability after hurricanes: Longitudinal evidence from U.S. coastal states” Best, K.B., He, Q., Reilly, A., Tran, N., Niemeier, D., Risk Analysis https://doi.org/10.1111/risa.14224 (2023)
5. “How do migration decisions and rivers differ against extreme environmental events?” Mallick, B., Best, K.B., Carrico, A., Ghosh, T., Priodarshini, R., Sultana, Z., Samanta, G., Environmental Hazards https://doi.org/10.1080/17477891.2023.2195152 (2023)
6. “Spatial regression identifies socioeconomic inequality in multi-stage power outage recovery after Hurricane Isaac” Best, K.B., Kerr, S., Reilly, A.C., Niemeier, D., Patwardhan, A., Guikema, S. Natural Hazards https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-023-05886-2. (2023)

More Publications

Google Scholar: Kelsea Best