From Dongguan to Delhi: Yale Students Examine Urbanization and the Environment in China and India

By the year 2030, nearly one-third of the world’s urban inhabitants will live in either China or India. The rapid growth of urban populations and the rise of new cities in each of these countries make issues of urbanization and environment of pressing contemporary concern. Over Spring Break, 15 Yale College students will be given the opportunity to travel to China and India, to study side-by-side issues relating to urbanization and the environment. The trip is part of a novel course within the Environmental Studies program, EVST 346 “From Dongguan to Delhi: Urbanization and the Environment in China and India”, and is co-taught by Associate Professor Karen Seto and FES doctoral candidate Angel Hsu.

Students will spend a week in each country, in the first week visiting China’s Shenzen, Guangzhou, and Dongguan, each of which offers unique insights into the histories and trajectories of urbanization, economic growth, and industrialization. During the second week, students will travel to New Delhi, India, and its satellite cities of Gurgaon, Noida and Ghaziabad. Professor Seto notes that Delhi was chosen because it “represents both new and old, historic and contemporary elements of urbanization in India”.

Throughout their travels, and the larger course of which this trip is a part, students will ask the question: Is urbanization in China and India a problem or a possible solution to the environment and sustainable development? Using satellite remote sensing and geographic information systems (GIS) to aid their study of these cities, they will address topics relating to urban expansion; energy use, energy transitions, and climate change; food, urban diets, and consumption patterns; manufacturing and industrial production; technology and innovation; and culture and lifestyles. Their travels will be documented online through writing, photos, and video: http://sites.environment.yale.edu/chinaindia/