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  • Urban
53 Stories
  1. View of earth and the United Stated at night from space, showing illuminated areas
    YSE News

    Earth’s Nighttime Lights Are Getting More Volatile—What Does That Mean?

    April 10, 2026

    New research using daily satellite imagery shows that the world’s lights now act like a real-time pulse of human activity, conflict, and development.

  2. pedestrians-only area in downtown Ventura, California
    YSE News

    How Zoning Reform Could Shrink Americans’ Daily Travel Footprint

    February 10, 2026

    New research uses artificial intelligence to simulate how changes to zoning might influence how far people travel each day, thereby reducing transportation emissions.

  3. Coyote grazing in an urban setting
    YSE News

    What Can Urban Wildlife Teach Us About Shared Spaces?

    November 14, 2025

    Professor Nyeema Harris spoke with YSE News about how humans and animals can coexist in city spaces.

  4. planting trees in an urban park near a row of houses
    YSE News

    A New Roadmap for Urban Tree Planting

    October 21, 2025

    YSE research scientists have developed a data-driven framework for equitable urban tree planting that can guide city planners, nonprofits, and local governments in targeting the most impactful planting sites.

  5. Portrait of Brianna Castro
    YSE News

    Climate Adaptation Scientist Brianna Castro Joins the Yale School of the Environment

    September 15, 2025

    Brianna Castro’s research into climate change impacts and climate migration draws on the fields of environmental studies, human geography, urban planning, and public policy.

  6. street scene of people walking in midtown Manhattan NYC
    YSE News

    City Streets Are Shifting From Social Hubs to Throughways

    July 24, 2025

    Higher urban incomes, technology, and increases in indoor meeting places may play a role in the behavioral changes, a Yale-led study finds.

  7. tablet with search results about coyotes, on a table with a notebook and markers
    YSE News

    Neighborhood Conditions Profoundly Affect the Environmental Literacy of Urban Youth

    June 30, 2025

    New research from the Yale School of the Environment reveals how environmental factors, ranging from greenery to socioeconomic stress, shape urban adolescents’ environmental knowledge and concern.

  8. raccoon emerging from a raided nestbox
    YSE News

    New Soil DNA Monitoring Technique Provides Data for Better Urban Wildlife Planning

    June 18, 2025

    Yale School of the Environment scientists pioneered a novel approach to studying the impact of urbanization on biodiversity in cities.

  9. Zhang near Little Island in New York City
    YSE News

    Keer Zhang ’25 PhD: Understanding a Warming World Through Urban Expansion

    May 12, 2025

    From rural China to New Haven, Keer Zhang draws on lived experience to investigate how urbanization fuels climate risks in a warming world.

  10. A large group of monkeys crowded on the roof of a building in India
    YSE News

    Rapid Urbanization Could Increase Spread of Zoonotic Diseases

    February 5, 2025

    Researchers at YSE have mapped the global distribution of wildlife species known to carry diseases that can affect humans in the wildland-urban interface.

  11. The devastation from the Palisades Fire is shown in an aerial view in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Monday, Jan. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
    YSE News

    L.A. Fires: Forging a Resilient Path Forward

    January 29, 2025

    YSE experts discuss environmental and public health impacts of the fires as well as how fire-prone regions can prevent and manage the spread of wildfires in the future.

  12. Group of youth planting a tree with URI
    YSE News

    People of Color Exposed to More Extremely Hot Days

    December 10, 2024

    A new study by Yale School of the Environment researchers found that communities of color in the U.S. face more heat exposure and have fewer cooling options than predominantly white communities and those disparities are still increasing.

  13. aerial view of an urban greenspace adjoining residential buildings
    YSE News

    Study Finds Humidity Diminishes Daytime Cooling Gains in Urban Green Spaces

    November 12, 2024

    Urban green spaces provide shade for city dwellers facing rising temperatures brought on by climate change, but how much relief from the heat island effect do they provide when humidity is factored in?

  14. Bill Burch with some of his former students
    YSE News

    In Memoriam: William R. Burch Jr., Frederick C. Hixon Professor Emeritus of Natural Resources Management

    July 26, 2024

    William "Bill" R. Burch Jr., a scientist of international renown for his pioneering work in social and community forestry who taught at the Yale School of the Environment for more than four decades, died July 16, 2024. Burch was the founder of the Tropical Resources Institute (TRI) and the Urban Resources Initiative (URI) at YSE, where he brought innovative approaches in ecological enhancement and community development to both rural and urban settings. 

  15. Iyer
    YSE News

    YSE Class of ’24: Aishwarya Iyer Focuses on Underrepresented Voices in Energy Usage

    May 14, 2024

    Class of '24: Aishwarya Iyer's focus on the life cycle assessment of energy use in building stock in India led her to a unique discovery — informal and low-income housing units were not represented in the data. She devised a study to test energy-use scenarios in those units, helping to improve representation of building stocks and energy demand projections in the Global South.