Environments & health
Urban sprawl, parks, walkability, and natural environments in relation to well-being, mental health, and mortality inequalities.
University of Utah · Geography
Yu Wang 王妤
Ph.D. Candidate in Urban, Environmental, and Health Geography
I study how places shape health and well-being—and how spatial data can help us understand the differences.
School of Environment, Society & Sustainability
Salt Lake City, Utah
About
Environments, communities,
and the geography of health.
I am a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Utah, expecting to graduate in December 2026. I study how built and natural environments shape health, well-being, and health inequalities—from neighborhood conditions to individuals’ changing exposures in daily life.
I use GIScience, spatial statistics, and GeoAI to examine how these environments relate to behavior and health. I also develop methods to reconstruct missing driving GPS trajectories and classify stationary activity, walking, and driving.
I hold a Ph.D. in Regional Economics from East China Normal University, where I studied the digital economy, city-size distributions, and urban hierarchies. I welcome collaborations in environmental health, spatial analysis, and geographic data science.
Research directions
Connecting place and people.
Mobility & exposure
GPS trajectory reconstruction, mobility-state classification, and time-varying environmental exposure assessment.
Spatial methods & GeoAI
Spatial pathway modeling, deep kriging, geographic heterogeneity, and interpretable geospatial analysis.
Current funded research
Pacific Islander Physical Activity (PiPA) Study
Graduate Research Assistant · 2026–present
GPS, wearable sensors, and environmental measures for studying physical activity. Supported by NCI/NIH R37CA276365.
Area-level conditions, health & mortality
Graduate Research Assistant · 2024–present
Neighborhood walkability, air pollution, socioeconomic context, and cardiometabolic mortality. Supported by NIA/NIH R01AG080440.
Maps & methods
Research you can explore.
Recent publications
From urban form to well-being.
Journal article
Urban sprawl, natural environments, and mortality inequality: Socioeconomic pathways and spatial heterogeneity across U.S. counties
Applied Geography · 189, 103943
Paper ↗ Find on Scholar ↗Journal article
Teleworking, social capital, and subjective well-being: Evidence from U.S. county-level data
Cities · 167, 106355
Paper ↗ Find on Scholar ↗Journal article
Urban sprawl and subjective well-being: U.S. county-level evidence
Annals of the American Association of Geographers · 115(5), 1104–1124
Paper ↗ Find on Scholar ↗Education
A foundation across disciplines.
2023–expected December 2026
Ph.D. Candidate · University of Utah
Urban, Environmental, and Health Geography
Dissertation: The Interplay of Urban Sprawl, Parks and Teleworking: Implications for Subjective Well-Being
Additional graduate coursework in Data Science, Kahlert School of Computing, 2023–present.
2018–2023
Ph.D. · East China Normal University
Regional Economics · Completed March 2023
Dissertation: Effects of the Internet on National City Size Distribution and Its Mechanisms
2015–2018
M.S. · Capital Normal University
Human Geography
2011–2015
B.S. · Northwest Normal University
Urban-Rural Planning Management
Teaching & community
Sharing geographic ways of thinking.
Teaching at Utah
GEOG 3020 · Geographical Analysis
Lab Instructor of Record · Spring 2026
Applied statistics, spatial analysis, and geographic data using R and Excel.
GEOG 3100/6100 · Introduction to GIS and Science
Lab Instructor of Record · Fall 2025
ArcGIS Pro, spatial data management, remote sensing, cartography, and geovisualization.
Course development: GIS and GeoAI for Investigating Environmental Health and Health Disparities (designed; not yet taught).
Service & mentoring
AAG Regional Development and Planning Specialty Group
Student Representative · 2025–2026
Journal reviewer for Applied Geography; Cities; Population and Environment; Environment and Development; and Wellbeing, Space and Society.
Assisted faculty advisors with graduate student research co-mentoring on built environments, mental health, green space, and urban development.
Editors’ Choice · GeoHealth
2025 selection for the 2024 article on built and natural environments and mental health.
Connect
Let’s explore a geographic question.
yuki.wang@utah.eduyukiwangecnu@gmail.comGoogle Scholar ↗GitHub ↗