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Seth Asare Okyere

  • Teaching Assistant Professor

Dr Seth Asare Okyere is an interdisciplinary scholar, educator and mentor. His teaching and research sit at the intersection of urban planning, sustainability, adaptation and resilience with a focus on advancing community-based approaches that promote sustainable and just urban futures. Dr. Okyere’s work is grounded in the lived experiences of how communities navigate socio-spatial, environmental and climatic stressors, shocks and risks. It draws on global insights to inform locally rooted solutions. Dr Okyere brings a global perspective, shaped by work and lived experience across four continents, including Africa, Asia, Europe and North America, while remaining firmly grounded in the ‘everyday’ of local contexts. His approach elevates subjugated knowledges/experiences and practices/innovations to the center of urban planning and policy for sustainable and just futures. Dr Okyere has led international expert teams, collaborated with civil society organizations and policy think tanks, and mentored students and early-career professionals across disciplines. Prior to his current role at the University of Pittsburgh, Dr. Okyere was a Specially Appointed Assistant and Associate Professor at Osaka University in Japan, a Visiting Assistant Professor at the University of Arizona (where he received the inaugural Emerging Faculty Fellow Award 2022), and Graduate Intern for a European Union co-Funded MyNeigborhood Urban Social Innovation Project at Polimi, Milano, Italy.

Dr. Okyere was honored with the University of Pittsburgh Dr. Larry Davis Emerging Scholar Award for outstanding achievement in Research and Teaching (2025). He also served as a Mentor for the Urban Affairs Association Scholar Development Program for early career scholars in 2025/2026. He has (co)authored over 100 publications, including books, peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters, and policy commentaries. His public engagement scholarship has been featured in The Conversation, Quartz International, MSNBC, Newsweek Japan, CiTTi UK, WalletHub, and The Jakarta Post. His internationally recognized and highly cited work has contributed to/been cited in major global and regional organizations initiatives/reports such as the European Agency for Health and Safety at Work Eco-Anxiety Report (2025), the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) West Africa Papers on Sustainable and Inclusive Futures for Accra (2025), the World Bank’s Sustainable Cities Strategy for Ghana 2025, the International Transport Forum Report on Data-informed Mobility Governance (2025), UN-Habitat World Cities Report 2024, the World Bank Report on The Power of Cities: Harnessing Low carbon urbanization for climate action (2023), the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) WGIII Report on the Mitigation of Climate Change (2022), the UN Habitat Prosperity for all Report (2023) and the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ) Global Development Magazine on Cities (Akzente 2020).

Dr Okyere’s professional mission lies in a commitment to collaborative, interdisciplinary work that affirms the agency of disadvantaged populations, challenges epistemic injustice, and centers empathy, curiosity, and creativity in both pedagogy and practice of achieving sustainable, just and resilience cities and communities.

Education & Training

  • PhD Engineering-Urban Development Planning, The University of Osaka, Japan
  • MSc (cum laude) Urban Planning and Policy Design, The Technical University of Milan, Italy
  • BSc (First Class) Development Planning, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana

Representative Publications

Books/Edited Collections

  1. Okyere, S.A., Diko, S.K., Frimpong, L.K., Abunyewah, M., Mensah, S.L. (2026) eds Routledge Handbook of Resilient Urban Planning for Small and Medium-Sized Cities. Routledge, NY/London
  2. Diko, S.K., Okyere, S.A., Mensah, S.L., Frimpong, L.K. (2025) Planning for Resilient Small and Medium-sized Cities in Ghana. Routledge, NY/London
  3. Okyere, S.A., Abunyewah, M. Erdiaw-Kwasie, O.M., Boateng, F.G. (2024) eds Urban Slums and Circular Economy Synergies in the Global South: Theoretical and Policy Imperatives for Sustainable Communities. Springer, Singapore.

Selected articles and book chapters

  1. Diko, S.K. and Okyere, S.A. (2026) The utility of planning mandates for climate action plans in the United States: lessons from a multi-jurisdictional study. Planning Practice & Research, 1–26. https://doi.org/10.1080/02697459.2026.2731070
  2. Apanovich, N., Okyere, S.A., Mensah, S.L.*, Opoku Mensah, S. (2025) Community-Based Circular Food Systems and Sustainable Development Synergies in Semi-arid Cities: Lessons from Tucson, Arizona. Circular Economy and Sustainability, https://doi.org/10.1007/s43615-025-00514-6
  3. Okyere, S. A., Diko, S. K., Frimpong, L. K., Abunyewah, M., & Mensah, S. L.* (2025). Introduction: Valorizing the Resilience of Small and Medium-Sized Cities. In Routledge Handbook of Resilient Urban Planning for Small and Medium-Sized Cities (pp. 1-12). Routledge.
  4. Abunyewah, M., Gajendran, T., Erdiaw-Kwasie, M.O., Baah, C., Okyere, S.A., Kankanamge, S., (2025) The multidimensional impacts of heatwaves on human ecosystems: A systematic literature review and future research direction, Environmental Science & Policy, 165 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2025.104024
  5. Annobil, D. K.*, Mensah, S. L.*, Okyere, S. A., & Wontumi, F. (2025). Secondary Cities at the Interface of Disaster Risk Reduction. Routledge Handbook of Resilient Urban Planning for Small and Medium-Sized Cities.  
  6. Okyere, S.A. (2025). The inventiveness of informal settlements in African cities. Nature Cities, https://doi.org/10.1038/s44284-025-00310-1
  7. Okyere, S.A., Frimpong, L. K., Mensah, S. O*. Mensah, S. L.*, Gbedemah, S. F., Kwang, C., Abunyewah, M., (2025) Urban transition and environmental risks in overlooked small and medium-sized towns: Implications for (un)sustainable futures in Africa. Journal of Environmental Planning and Management. https://doi.org/10.1080/09640568.2025.2466593
  8. Frimpong, L. K., Mensah, S. L.*, Okyere, S.A. (2025) Decolonizing climate resilience in Africa’s informal settlements, Nature Cities https://doi.org/10.1038/s44284-025-00344-5
  9. Okyere, S.A., Abunyewah, M., Addai, J*. Mensah, L.*, Frimpong, L.K., Kwang, C. (2024) Faith-based organizations and disaster management in informal urban Accra. Environmental Hazards, https://doi.org/10.1080/17477891.2024.2333738
  10. Abunyewah M., Erdiaw-Kwasie, M. O., Okyere, S.A., Boateng, F.G. (2023) Advancing a slum–circular economy model for sustainability transition in cities of the Global South. Nature Sustainability https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-023-01176-8
  11. Abunyewah, M., Okyere, S.A., Erdiaw-Kwasie, M. O., & Boateng, F. G. (2024). Towards just circular transitions in the slums of global south cities. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-9025-2_11
  12. Frimpong, K., Okyere, S.A., Diko, S. K., Abunyewah, M., Erdiaw K.M, Commodore, T*. Kita, M. Oviedo, D. (2021) Actor-Network Analysis of Community-Based Organizations in Health Pandemics: Evidence from COVID-19 Response in Freetown, Sierra Leone. Disasters https://doi.org/10.1111/disa.12508
  13. Alsherfawi Aljazaerly, A.*, Okyere, S.A., Mensah, S.L., Abunyewah, M., Frimpong, L.K. and Kita, M. (2024). Towards a socially sustainable built environment: a comparative assessment of urban neighbourhoods in Istanbul. Smart and Sustainable Built Environment, 10.1108/SASBE-11-20230372  
  14. Nikko, T.*, Okyere, S.A., Abunyewah, M., Kita, M. (2022) Integrating Urban Resilience Attributes in Local Development Plans in Metro Manila, Philippines: Strengths, Weaknesses and Gaps. Progress in Disaster Science Vol. 16, 100249, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pdisas.2022.100249   
  15. Fatemi, N.*, Okyere, S.A., Diko, S.K., Kita, M. (2020) Multi-Level Climate Governance in Bangladesh via Climate Change Mainstreaming: Lessons for Local Climate Action in Dhaka City. Urban Science, Vol. 4, 24, pp. 1-18 https://doi.org/10.3390/urbansci4020024
  16. Frimpong, L. K., Mensah, S. L.*, Angmor, E., Gbedemah, S. F., & Okyere, S.A. (2024). Experiential learning as community engagement: Exploring the experiences of undergraduate students in an African university. Societal Impacts 4, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socimp.2024.100064
  17. Apanovich, N., Okyere, S.A., Mensah, S.L.*, Frimpong, L.K. (2023) Education for sustainable development: Societal benefits of a community garden project in Tucson, Arizona. Social Impacts 10011, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socimp.2023.100011
  18. Nieto-Combariza, M.*, Galeano-Duque, V., Mensah, S. L.*, Frimpong, L. K., Okyere, S.A., & Oviedo, D. (2025). Self-built infrastructure interventions to (un)walkable streets: Pedestrian accessibility, safety and enjoyment in a neighbourhood in Accra. Cities, 161, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2025.105911
  19. Abunyewah M., Erdiaw-Kwasie, M. O., Okyere, S.A., Thayaparan, G., Byrne, M., Lassa, J., Zander, K., Fatemi, N., Maund, K. (2023) Influence of personal and collective social capital on flood preparedness and community resilience: Evidence from Old Fadama, Ghana. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 93, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2023.103790
  20. Okyere, S.A., Frimpong, L., Diko, S.K., Mensah, S.*, Pedrosa., E* (2023) Informal Settlements and Pro-poor Urban Planning in African Cities. Cambridge University Press, https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009389457.007

*Student/mentee co-author

Research Interests

  • Urban planning and sustainability
  • Adaptation and Resilience
  • Just transitions
  • Global South urbanisms
  • International development planning
  • Climate Action Planning
  • Community engagement and learning

Courses Taught

  • Urban Sustainability (Fall and Spring)
  • Introduction to Urban and Regional Planning (Fall)
  • Neighborhood Planning (Fall)
  • International Urbanism (Spring)
  • Urban Planning and Geographic Analysis Capstone (Spring)