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GCRISociety and Human DevelopmentIn development
Chapters

Chapters

Specialist sub-communities inside Society and Human Development. Each chapter has its own group, editor and topic pages, and becomes a separate site only by meeting the graduation rule.

01In brief

The short answer.

Society and Human Development chapters are specialist sub-communities inside the platform: Media and Information Systems, Humanitarian Risk and Displacement, and Population and Demographic Futures. Each has its own group, editor and research agenda starting from a cornerstone topic, and becomes a separate platform only by meeting the ten-point graduation rule.

02Canvas

From enquiry to contribution.

Canvas · from enquiry to contributionDesign, not a record
Chapters: a working group from charter to sunsetA charter sets the question and the code of conduct; members join with declared interests; a workplan produces deliverables that are reviewed and credited; the group reports and sunsets or renews. Design of the process, not a record of a run.

Fig.The path from an enquiry to a credited contribution. Design, not a record; no step creates membership.

03Geography

People and exposure in Latin America and the Caribbean.

For chapters, in GCRI's spatial-intelligence reading, the map opens on population density and true-colour imagery, framed on Latin America and the Caribbean; every other NASA layer, live feed and forecast waits in the layer list.

The interactive map needs JavaScript; the layer list and sources are below.

Layers 2

People and exposure, for this page

Latest available

NASA GIBS / EOSDIS · ASTER GDEM (METI, NASA) · Blue Marble (NASA) · © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL) · Natural Earth

Loading the latest NASA imagery.

Drag to move. Ctrl or ⌘ and scroll, pinch or the buttons to zoom; hover for the values under the pointer; reset returns to the region.

For chapters, in GCRI's spatial-intelligence reading, the map opens on population density and true-colour imagery, framed on Latin America and the Caribbean; every other NASA layer, live feed and forecast waits in the layer list.Satellite and model products as NASA publishes them, each with its own date; indicators, not assessments of any place; claim ceiling INTEGRATED.

Data: NASA GIBS · ASTER GDEM · Blue Marble · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Natural Earth · Copernicus Sentinel-2 L2ASources and licences

  • We acknowledge the use of imagery provided by services from NASA's Global Imagery Browse Services (GIBS), part of NASA's Earth Science Data and Information System (ESDIS). Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
  • We acknowledge the use of imagery provided by services from NASA's Global Imagery Browse Services (GIBS), part of NASA's Earth Science Data and Information System (ESDIS). Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
  • Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN), Columbia University. 2018. Gridded Population of the World, Version 4 (GPWv4): Population Density, Revision 11. NASA Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC). Licensed under CC BY 4.0. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). CC BY 4.0
  • VIIRS near-real-time products (flood, land surface temperature, snow cover, corrected reflectance), NASA LANCE; imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
  • MODIS land products (vegetation indices, gross primary production, land cover), NASA LP DAAC and LANCE; imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
  • VIIRS Black Marble night-time lights, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center; distributed by the NASA Level-1 and Atmosphere Archive and Distribution System (LAADS DAAC); imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
  • ASTER GDEM is a product of METI and NASA (ASTER Global Digital Elevation Model V003, NASA LP DAAC); imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
  • Made with Natural Earth. Free vector and raster map data @ naturalearthdata.com. Public domain
  • © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), via NASA GIBS (coastlines, boundaries, roads and place names). Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). ODbL
  • Blue Marble, NASA Earth Observatory; imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
  • Context on the globe and flat map: coastlines, boundaries, roads and place names from NASA GIBS reference layers (OpenStreetMap data, ODbL, © OpenStreetMap contributors); Blue Marble imagery as an optional base; 3D terrain and the elevation read-out from the ASTER GDEM elevation colour index (5 m to 200 m classes, exaggerated for legibility). Boundaries are drawn as published and imply no position on any territory.
  • Globe: MapLibre GL JS 6.9.1, BSD-3-Clause, © MapLibre contributors.
  • Observed (EO): Copernicus Sentinel-2 L2A (contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2026), Microsoft Planetary Computer
  • Optional layers (35 sources in the layer list: live, forecast, observed and context) print their provider credit on the map and here when switched on; forecasts are model output and derived indices are estimates.

Layers and dates

  • Population density, 2020: Population: CIESIN, Columbia University, Gridded Population of the World v4.11 (2018), NASA SEDAC, CC BY 4.0 · static
  • True colour: VIIRS NOAA-20 corrected reflectance, NASA LANCE · 13 Oct 2026
  • Land surface temperature, day, 8-day composite: VIIRS NOAA-20 Level 3, 8-day, NASA LANCE · 14 Sep 2026
  • Land cover type (IGBP), yearly: MODIS Terra and Aqua land cover (MCD12Q1), NASA LP DAAC · 2024
  • Flood water, 3-day composite: VIIRS Global Flood Product, NASA LANCE · 14 Oct 2026
  • Night-time lights, daily: VIIRS Black Marble (VNP46A2), NASA LAADS DAAC · 12 Oct 2026

04Chapters

Communities within the field.

  1. 01

    Media and Information Systems

    Media and information social consequences, with GRF public trust counterpart. Open the Media and Information Systems chapter

  2. 02

    Humanitarian Risk and Displacement

    Humanitarian risks within human development and disaster readiness. Open the Humanitarian Risk and Displacement chapter

  3. 03

    Population and Demographic Futures

    Demographics within society and human development. Open the Population and Demographic Futures chapter

05Chapters

Sub-communities inside Human Development.

The chapters serve three specialist communities: humanitarian risk and displacement, media and information systems, and population and demographic futures. Each brings its own institutions and data, and each relies on social science methods and the displacement and media topics. Each chapter keeps its own reading list and its own link to the relevant humanitarian or statistical bodies.

06Key terms

Terms used on this page.

Each term as this page uses it. Where a standard-setting body defines the term, the wording follows that body.

TermDefinition
ChapterIn the Nexus network, a specialist sub-community inside a platform with its own group, editor and research agenda; it can become its own platform only by meeting the published graduation rule.
Graduation ruleThe published ten-point test a chapter must meet, including sustained activity, editorial capacity, distinct scope, rights controls and operating ownership, before it becomes a separate platform.
Community of practiceA group of people who share a concern or a craft and learn to do it better by interacting regularly; the term comes from Lave and Wenger's work on situated learning.
07Sources

Where this page's references lead.

The bodies and documents this page is read against. Status and editions change; each link goes to the issuing body.

09Questions

Questions and answers.

How does a chapter become its own platform?
Through the ten-point graduation rule: sustained activity, editorial capacity, distinct scope, rights controls, operating ownership and hosted acceptance, among others.
Society and Human Development

Bring your expertise to this field.

The current service level is R0: information and enquiries. An enquiry receives a reference and names the next step; applications, payments, compute allocations and registrations open only when their team, terms and review capacity exist.