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Karen Seto

Karen Seto

Associate Professor, Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, Yale University

karen.seto@yale.edu

203-432-9784

Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies
Yale University
380 Edward St, #102
New Haven, CT 06511
USA

Titles

  • Associate Professor, Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, Yale University

Biography

Professor Seto's research is on the human transformation of land and the links between urbanization, global change, and sustainability. A geographer by training, her research integrates remote sensing, field interviews, and modeling methods to study urbanization dynamics, forecast urban growth, and examine the environmental consequences of urban expansion. She is an expert in satellite remote sensing analysis and has pioneered methods to reconstruct historical land-use and to develop empirical models to explain and forecast the expansion of urban areas. She is a specialist in contemporary urbanization in China and India, and has more than 15 years of research experience in Asia.

Education

  • PhD, Geography, Boston University, 2000
  • MA, International Relations & Resource and Environmental Management, Boston University, 1995
  • BA, Political Science, University of California-Santa Barbara, 1991

External Links

Journal Articles

In Press

Fragkias, M. and K. C. Seto. Evolving rank-size distributions for intra-metropolitan urban clusters in South China. Computers, Environment and Urban Systems

2021

Elmqvist, T., E. Andersson, P. T. McPhearson, X. Bai, L. M. Bettencourt, E. Brondizio, J. Colding, G. Daily, C. Folke, N. B. Grimm, D. Haase, D. Ospina, S. Parnell, S. Polasky, K. C. Seto and S. E. van der Leeuw. 2021. Urbanization in and for the Anthropocene. npj Urban Sustainability 1(6):. DOI: 10.1038/s42949-021-00018-w. (link )

2018

Wentz, E. A., A. M. York, M. Alberti, L. Conrow, H. Fischer, L. Inostroza, C. Jantz, S. T. Pickett, K. C. Seto and H. Taubenböck. 2018. Six fundamental aspects for conceptualizing multidimensional urban form: A spatial mapping perspective. Landscape and Urban Planning 179(Nov):55-62. DOI: 10.1016/j.landurbplan.2018.07.007. (link )

2017

Seto, K. C., J. S. Golden, M. Alberti and B. L. Turner II. 2017. Sustainability in an urbanizing planet. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 114(34):8935-8938. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1606037114. (link )

2015

Gurney, K. R., P. Romero-Lankao, K. C. Seto, L. R. Hutyra, R. Duren, C. Kennedy, N. B. Grimm, J. R. Ehleringer, P. J. Marcotullio, S. Hughes, S. Pincetl, M. V. Chester, D. M. Runfola, J. Feddema and J. Sperling. 2015. Climate change: Track urban emissions on a human scale. Nature 525(10 September 2015):179-181. DOI: 10.1038/525179a. (link )

Solecki, W., K. C. Seto, D. Balk, A. Bigio, C. G. Boone, F. Creutzig, M. Fragkias, S. Lwasa, P. J. Marcotullio, P. Romero-Lankao and T. Zwickel. 2015. A conceptual framework for an urban areas typology to integrate climate change mitigation and adaptation. Urban Climates 14(Part 1):116-137. DOI: 10.1016/j.uclim.2015.07.001. (link )

2014

Romero-Lankao, P., K. R. Gurney, K. C. Seto, M. V. Chester, R. M. Duren, S. Hughes, L. R. Hutyra, P. Marcotullio, L. Baker, N. B. Grimm, C. Kennedy, E. Larson, S. Pincetl, D. Runfola, L. Sanchez, G. Shrestha, J. Feddema, A. Sarzynski, J. Sperling and E. Stokes. 2014. A critical knowledge pathway to low-carbon, sustainable futures: Integrated understanding of urbanization, urban areas and carbon. Earth's Future 2(10):515-532. DOI: 10.1002/2014EF000258. (link )

Wentz, E. A., S. Anderson, M. Fragkias, M. Netzband, V. Mesev, S. W. Myint, D. A. Quattrochi, A. Rahman and K. C. Seto. 2014. Supporting global environmental change research: A review of trends and knowledge gaps in urban remote sensing. Remote Sensing 6(5):3879-3905. DOI: 10.3390/rs6053879. (link )

2013

Srinivasan, V., K. C. Seto, R. Emerson and S. M. Gorelick. 2013. The impact of urbanization on water vulnerability: A coupled human-environment system approach for Chennai, India. Global Environmental Change 23(2013):229-239. DOI: 10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2012.10.002. (link )

Zhang, Q., C. Schaaf and K. C. Seto. 2013. The Vegetation Adjusted NTL Urban Index: A new approach to reduce saturation and increase variation in nighttime luminosity. Remote Sensing of Environment 129(2013):32-41. DOI: 10.1016/j.rse.2012.10.022. (link )

2012

Seto, K. C., A. Reenberg, C. G. Boone, M. Fragkias, D. Haase, T. Langanke, P. J. Marcotullio, D. K. Munroe, B. Olah and D. Simon. 2012. Urban land teleconnections and sustainability. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (USA) 109(20):7687-7692. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1117622109. (link )

2011

Wentz, E. A., K. C. Seto, S. W. Myint, M. Netzband and M. Fragkias. 2011. Urban remote sensing (URS) and forecasting urban land-use (FORE) workshops: Common ground and targeted opportunities. UGEC Viewpoints 6(Nov):18-23. (link )

2007

Fragkias, M. and K. C. Seto. 2007. Modeling urban growth in data-sparse environments: A new approach. Environment and Planning B: Planning and Design 34(5):858-883.

Seto, K. C. and M. Fragkias. 2007. Mangrove conversion and aquaculture development in Vietnam: A remote sensing-based approach for evaluating the Ramsar convention on wetlands. Global Environmental Change 17(3-4):486-500.

2005

Seto, K. C. and M. Fragkias. 2005. Quantifying spatiotemporal patterns of urban land-use change in four cities of China with time series landscape metrics. Landscape Ecology 20(7):871-888. DOI: 0.1007/s10980-005-5238-8. (link )

Seto, K. C. and M. Fragkias. 2005. Quantifying spatiotemporal patterns of urban land-use change in four cities of China with time series landscape metrics. Landscape Ecology 20(7):871-888. DOI: 10.1007/s10980-005-5238-8. (link )

Seto, K. C. and M. Fragkias. 2005. Quantifying spatiotemporal patterns of urban land-use change in four cities of China with time series landscape metrics. Landscape Ecology 20(7):871-888. DOI: 10.1007/s10980-005-5238-8. (link )

Book Chapters

2014

Boone, C. G., C. L. Redman, H. Blanco, D. Haase, J. Koch, S. Lwasa, H. Nagendra, S. Pauleit, S. T. Pickett, K. C. Seto and M. Yokohari. 2014. Reconceptualzing land for sustainable urbanity. Pp. 313-330 In: Seto, K. C. and A. Reenberg eds., Rethinking Global Land Use in an Urban Era. Vol 14. MIT Press. Cambridge, MA. ISBN: 9780262026901.

2013

Elmqvist, T., M. Fragkias, J. Goodness, B. Guneralp, P. J. Marcotullio, R. I. McDonald, S. Parnell, M. Schewenius, M. Sendstad, K. C. Seto, C. Wilkinson, M. Alberti, C. Folke, N. Frantzeskaki, D. Haase, M. V. Katti, H. Nagendra, J. Niemela, S. T. Pickett, C. L. Redman and K. Tidball. 2013. Stewardship of the biosphere in the urban era. Pp. 719-746 Urbanization, Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services: Challenges and Opportunities. Springer Netherlands.

Elmqvist, T., M. Fragkias, B. Guneralp, R. McDonald, P. J. Marcotullio, S. Parnell, K. C. Seto, M. Sendstad, C. Wilkinson, M. Alberti, C. Folke, J. Goodness, D. Haase, M. V. Katti, J. Niemela, H. Nagendra, M. Schewenius, K. Tidball, S. T. Pickett and C. L. Redman. 2013. Stewardship of the biosphere in the urban era. Pp. 719-746 In: Elmqvist, T., M. Fragkias, J. Goodness, B. Guneralp and P. J. Marcotullio eds., Urbanization, Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services: Challenges and Opportunities. Springer. ISBN: 978-94-007-7087-4.

Elmqvist, T., C. L. Redman, S. Barthel, R. Costanza, R. I. McDonald, S. Parnall, M. Sendstad, M. Schewenius, K. C. Seto and C. Wilkinson. 2013. History of urbanization and the missing ecology. Pp. 13-30 In: Elmqvist, T., M. Fragkias, J. Goodness, B. Guneralp and P. J. Marcotullio eds., Urbanization, Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services: Challenges and Opportunities. Springer. ISBN: 978-94-007-7087-4.

2008

Fragkias, M. and K. C. Seto. 2008. Urban land-use change, models, uncertainty and policymaking in rapidly growing developing-world cities: Evidence from China. Pp. 139-160 In: Aspinall, R. J. and M. J. Hill eds., Land use change: Science, policy and management. CRC Press. New York.

2007

Seto, K. C., M. Fragkias and A. Schneider. 2007. 20 Years after reforms: Challenges to planning and development in China's city-regions and opportunities for remote sensing. Pp. 249-269 In: Redman, C. L., W. L. Stefanov and M. Netzband eds., Applied remote sensing for urban planning, governance and sustainability. Springer-Verlag. Berlin Heidelberg.