The Current State of Housing in Tbilisi and Yerevan: a Brief Primer

This article provides a brief overview of current developments in the housing sectors of Tbilisi and Yerevan. It describes the factors that influenced the formation of the current housing landscapes of these two capital cities in the South Caucasus. Additionally, the article discusses the idiosyncrasies of housing financing and affordability

The Intersection of Georgian Tourism and Russian Politics

The article aims to explore the effect of global politics on tourism-dependent communities living in a geopolitically uncertain situation, using Georgia-Russia bilateral relations as an example. It discusses how the combination of political destabilization and tourism development affects Georgia's overall economic climate, raising the question of whether the benefits of tourism are sustainable in the face of such an unpredictable political environment. The article explains how powerful regional political dynamics have impacted Georgia's most formidable economic progress mechanism - tourism - and how strongly this has influenced the country’s development

Is tourism the beginning or the end? Livelihoods of Georgian mountain people at stake

This study is an attempt toempirically understand thetransformation of rootedlivelihoods after the arrival oftourism in the GreaterCaucasus. A case-specificmethodology combiningqualitative and geographicinformation methods enabled us to identify 4 types of tourism-ledlivelihood change: (1) expanding nonagricultural activities;(2) reducing agricultural activities; (3) developing agritourismactivities; and (4) increasing agricultural activities. Broad spatialcoverage ensured that the data collected were representative. Thefindings indicate that although tourism growth has increased theneed for supplementary services, only a few local residents havemanaged to develop tourism-related nonagricultural activities. Weargue that mountain residents see opportunities from tourismmainly in agriculture and hosting tourists. However, relatively fewof them actually expanded their agricultural activities in responseto tourism’s increased demand for agricultural products, as severalbarriers (lack of human resources, modern technology, andfinances) hindered other residents from taking this opportunity. Asour study reveals, households with traditional livelihoods mostoften replaced their agricultural activities, investing all theirresources in developing tourism-related livelihoods instead. Otherscreated added value from their integrated agriculture- and tourism-based livelihoods by providing visitors with locally made products.In addition to these findings on trends in livelihood changes, thestudy also provides an understanding of households’ economicpriorities. We hope the new insights surrounding tourism-ledlivelihood shifts will spark a debate on how people cope with therapid spread of tourism in the Georgian mountains

ANTHROPOGENIC TRANSFORMATION OF LANDSCAPES OF EASTERN GEORGIA AND THE CURRENT ECOLOGICAL SITUATION

The landscapes of eastern Georgia are increasingly exposed to anthropogenic impacts and are replaced by natural-anthropogenic or completely transformed landscapes. These processes can be observed worldwide, though with different intensity. The underlying causes include the construction of hydro energy facilities, uncontrollable (illegal) felling of trees, pasture overload, and so on, which inevitably have a serious impact on the environment and  cause frequent and increasingly intensive geodynamic processes such as erosions, landslides and mudflows.The study of the impacts of particular anthropogenic factors on Eastern Georgian landscapes made it possible to design a model of the region – a landscape-ecological map showing ecological factors characteristic of a particular landscape zone and highlighting ecologically hazardous areas

City as a geopolitics: Tbilisi, Georgia — A globalizing metropolis in a turbulent region

Tbilisi, a city of over a million, is the national capital of Georgia. Although little explored in urban studies, the city epitomizes a fascinating assemblage of processes that can illuminate the interplay of geopolitics, political choices, globalization discourses, histories, and urban contestations in shaping urban transformations. Tbilisi's strategic location in the South Caucasus, at the juncture of major historical empires and religions in Eurasia, has ensured its turbulent history and a polyphony of cultural influences. Following Georgia's independence in 1991, Tbilisi found itself as the pivot of Georgian nation-building. Transition to a market economy also exposed the city to economic hardship, ethnical homogenization, and the informalization of the urban environment. The economic recovery since the early 2000s has activated urban regeneration. Georgia's government has recently promoted flagship urban development projects in pursuit of making Tbilisi as a modern globalizing metropolis. This has brought contradictions, such as undermining the city's heritage, contributing to socio-spatial polarization, and deteriorating the city's public spaces. The elitist processes of decision-making and a lack of a consistent urban policy and planning regimes are argued to be among major impediments for a more sustainable development of this city

From tradition to innovation: the pioneers of mountain entrepreneurship in the lesser Caucasus

In recent years, Georgia has witnessed a shift in its general policy orientation from agricultural to rural development, resulting in a transformation of household-based economic activities. Mountain areas have emerged as key focal points for promoting innovative approaches and practices for various reasons, such as lacking access to markets, outmigration, climate change, and generally difficult contexts for small-scale entrepreneurship. Many households in remote areas have limited access to the necessary resources, making it difficult to take advantage of new opportunities and benefits. This research focuses on pioneer entrepreneurial households in Khulo municipality in the Lesser Caucasus. The study's qualitative methodological approach allows a thorough examination of the topic, based on in-depth interviews in 2022 and 2023. We examine adaptation processes and the different forms of capital necessary to start a new business in the mountain environment, as well as motivations for starting a new business and challenges to maintaining economic activities

Park-people interaction in mountainous Georgia

This paper traces the case of Kazbegi National Park expansion and seeks to explore factors that shape or prevent trust-building between the park representatives and stakeholders. The research employed a qualitative methodology, using participatory mapping within discussions to allow the interview partners to link spatial information with extension areas. Comprehensive geographical coverage and participants’ maximal variation ensured the representativeness of the data collected. Overall, the article reviews various case studies and summarizes the similarities and differences in building trust during the expansion of protected areas in the Caucasus and other regions

A New Multiple Stellar System in the Solar Neighborhood

Adaptive optics corrected images obtained with the CIAO instrument at the Subaru 8.2-meter telescope show the presence of two subarsecond companions to the nearby (d=19.3 pc) young star GJ 900, which was previously classified as a single member of the IC 2391 supercluster. The two companions share the same proper motion as the primary and are redder. Their projected separations from the primary are 10 AU and 14.5 AU for B and C, respectively. The estimated masses for the two new companions depend strongly on the age of the system. For the range of ages found in the literature for IC 2391 supercluster members (from 35 Myr to 200 Myr), the expected masses range from 0.2 M$_\odot$ to 0.4 M$_\odot$ for the B component, and from 0.09 M$_\odot$ to 0.22 M$_\odot$ for the C component. The determination of the dynamical mass of the faintest component of GJ 900 will yield the age of the system using theoretical evolutionary tracks. The apparent separations of the GJ 900 system components meet the observational criterion for an unstable Trapezium-type system, but this could be a projection effect. Further observations are needed to establish the nature of this interesting low-mass multiple system.Comment: Scheduled for publication in the Astronomical Journal (August 2003

Comparison of multi-objective optimization methodologies for engineering applications

Computational models describing the behavior of complex physical systems are often used in the engineering design field to identify better or optimal solutions with respect to previously defined performance criteria. Multi-objective optimization problems arise and the set of optimal compromise solutions (Pareto front) has to be identified by an effective and complete search procedure in order to let the decision maker, the designer, to carry out the best choice. Four multi-objective optimization techniques are analyzed by describing their formulation, advantages and disadvantages. The effectiveness of the selected techniques for engineering design purposes is verified by comparing the results obtained by solving a few benchmarks and a real structural engineering problem concerning an engine bracket of a ca

Stars and brown dwarfs in the sigma Orionis cluster: the Mayrit catalogue

The young sigma Orionis cluster is an indispensable basis for understanding the formation and evolution of stars, brown dwarfs and planetary-mass objects. Our knowledge of its stellar population is, however, incomplete. I present the Mayrit catalogue, that comprises most of the stars and high-mass brown dwarfs of the cluster. The basis of this work is an optical-near infrared correlation between the 2MASS and DENIS catalogues in a circular area of radius 30 arcmin centred on the OB-type binary sigma Ori AB. The analysis is supported on a bibliographic search of confirmed cluster members with features of youth and on additional X-ray, mid-infrared and astrometric data. I list 241 sigma Orionis stars and brown dwarfs with known features of youth, 97 candidate cluster members (40 are new) and 115 back- and foreground sources in the survey area. The 338 cluster members and member candidates constitute the Mayrit catalogue. This catalogue is a suitable input for studying the spatial ditribution, multiplicity, properties and frequency of discs and the complete mass function of sigma Orionis.Comment: accepted for publication in A&A, section 14. Online catalogs and dat