Issues of prosperity: Stochastic evaluation of data related to environment, infrastructures, economy and society

Living organisms pass through life seeking prosperity in a materialistic world.

There are different meanings of prosperity. Some people think that it is measured in money, others relate it to pleasure and life satisfaction, while others link it to spirituality. However, it could be argued that the basic human needs related to the Water, Energy and Food (WEF) compose a nexus not only necessary for the survival of humans, but able to explain their prosperity as well.

Unfortunately, decision-making in modern world is largely driven by economic aspects and monetarist policies. Koutsoyiannis (personal communication) notes that water, energy and food are not derived by money; rather money and economic growth derives from the availability and the access to water, energy and food.

In this thesis, we study critical issues of prosperity rationally, using publicly available data, historical evidences and stochastic tools. The studied issues are based on the WEF nexus but extend to various other societal, environmental and cultural aspects of human life in societies, ranging from social stratification and urban clustering, to the aesthetic quality of surrounding environment.