Yeji Choi

Yeji Choi is a doctoral student at NYU Wagner and NYU Shanghai, specializing in Urban Policy, and a doctoral researcher affiliated with the Shanghai Key Laboratory of Urban Design and Urban Science (LOUD). Her research explores how big data can be harnessed to address pressing urban challenges through the lens of green space planning and management. She is particularly interested in developing data-driven frameworks that link urban green space design to climate adaptation, environmental justice, and public health outcomes. 

 

Before starting her Ph.D., Yeji worked for four years as a data scientist at the National Institute of Forest Science, Republic of Korea, the country’s leading government-affiliated research institute for forest policy. There she led projects that combined large-scale datasets with field measurements to analyze urban forests and their role in reducing heat, improving air quality, and supporting community health. Her work also involved deriving optimized structural models of urban forests, which contributed to both scientific understanding and practical policy applications.

 

She holds both a B.S. and M.S. in Technological Systems Management from Stony Brook University, where she studied information systems and environmental science. Drawing on this interdisciplinary background, her doctoral research examines how big data analytics can help cities design and implement green infrastructure strategies that are not only environmentally effective but also socially equitable and health-oriented, ultimately informing urban policy and planning decisions.