Arizonas Wildland Urban Interface

The wildland fire risk in Arizona is increasing due to shifting land uses, growing residential communities, and changing climate. As the fire hazard increases, land managers and fire educators are faced with educating wildland-urban interface residents about their risk to influence homeowner behavior. To determine how homeowners perceive their risk and what information they use to make decisions about risk and mitigation, this study surveyed residents in previously identified high risk areas in Arizona in three different vegetation types. Results show that ponderosa pine residents are more savvy about their risk and more active in mitigating that risk. Grassland and desert scrub residents consistently report a lower perceived risk to wildland fire than their forest counterparts and perform less mitigation. Results suggest that grassland and desert scrub communities may benefit from the production and dissemination of fire-related materials detailing risk specific to these areas.

This text is an introduction to the study of towns and cities. The book synthesizes a wealth of material to provide a comprehensive introduction for students of urban geography, drawing on a rich blend of theoretical and empirical information, to advance their knowledge of the city. For the first time in the history of humankind, urban dwellers outnumber rural residents and this trend is destined to continue. Urban places, towns and cities are of fundamental importance: for the distribution of population within countries; in the organization of economic production, distribution and exchange; in the structuring of social reproduction and cultural life; and in the allocation and exercise of power. Even those living beyond the administrative or functional boundaries of a town or city, will have their lifestyle influenced to some degree by a nearby or distant city.