Lelin Chen's Qualifying Exam

Lelin Chen will stand for the Qualifying Examination for acceptance into candidacy for the Ph.D. degree on Monday, July 7 at 9:00 a.m. via Zoom. All faculty (only faculty) are welcome and invited to attend. A copy of Lelin’s dissertation prospectus and qualifying exam questions and answers and the Zoom link can be obtained from the Doctoral Program Office (contact: elisabeth.barsa@yale.edu).
Committee members:
• Prof. Karen Seto (Chair)
• Prof. Arianna Salazar Miranda
• Prof. Michail Fragkias (Boise State Univ.)
Question 1: Causality between urbanization and geopolitical power
In your dissertation prospectus, you propose that urbanization shapes national geopolitical power through multiple mechanisms—spatial capital, global networks, and their interactions with climate-induced heat stress. A challenge in this research is to establish causality rather than a simple correlation between urbanization and geopolitical power.
Is pursuing causal associations is important for your dissertation work? If not, justify your philosophical position. If yes, critically evaluate how you intend to establish causal relationships in your dissertation between (a) urban spatial capital and national geopolitical power, and (2) urban network centrality and changes in geopolitical power. What strategies, data structures, and methodological approaches will you use to address issues such as endogeneity, reverse causality, omitted variable bias, and temporal precedence in your structural equation models and panel regressions? Provide examples from your proposed empirical chapters. Can you identify historical and contemporary world events that could be used to construct quasi-experimental research designs to examine the causal effect of urbanization on geopolitical power.
Question 2: Tipping Points, Heat, and Urbanization
Apply the concept of climate change tipping points to heat and urbanization. How does heat affect tipping points of urbanization or geopolitical power? Conceptualize how heat, including but not limited to heatwaves, heat stress, extreme heat events, could lead to tipping points for urbanization and geopolitical power? How does urban form or the spatial aspects of the built environment mediate these pathways of risk for tipping points?

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