My approach to research prioritizes academic rigor, policy relevance, and transdisciplinarity. The problems I am interested in are “wicked” and therefore directly affect people’s everyday lives, meaning a variety of stakeholders have an interest in the research questions I try to answer.
Peer-reviewed articles
Borofsky, Y. & F. Caprotti. 2025. “Who powers the off-grid city? Non-state actors, ethics, and the politics of solar infrastructure in Cape Town’s informal settlements.” Energy Research & Social Science. In production.
Borofsky, Y., S. Briers, & I. Günther. 2024. “An empirical test of pedestrian activity theories within informal settlements.” In D. Iossifova & D. Kostenwein (Eds.), Urban Borderlands: Difference, inequality, and spatio-temporal in-betweenness in cities. Urban Planning, 9.
Borofsky, Y. & I. Günther. 2022. “Mobility in informal settlements during a public lockdown: a case study in South Africa.” PLoS ONE, 17(12).
Rom, A., Guenther, I., & Y. Borofsky. 2020. “Using sensors to measure technology adoption in the social sciences.” Development Engineering, vol 5.
Ciller, P., Ellman, D., Vergara Ramirez, C.R., Gonzalez-Garcia, A., Lee, S.J., Drouin, C., Brusnahan, M., Borofsky, Y., Mateo, C., Amatya, R., Palacios, R., Stoner, R.J., de Cuadra, F. & I.J. Perez-Arriaga. 2019. “Optimal electrification planning incorporating on- and off-grid technologies: the Reference Electrification Model (REM).” Proceedings of the IEEE, vol. 107, no. 9, pp. 1872-1905, September 2019.
Working Papers
Borofsky, Y. & I. Günther. 2022. “Bringing Light to the Dark — Can Solar Public Lighting Improve Nighttime Life for the Urban Poor.” Working Paper.
Chapters in Edited Volumes
Y. Borofsky. 2022. “Beleuchtung in Informelle Siedlungen: das Schattendasein beenden.” Almanach Entwicklungspolitik 2023: Urbanisierung in Global Süden.” pp. 221-230, Luzern: Caritas-Verlag.
Briers, S. & Y. Borofsky. 2024. “Everynight Life in Informal Settlements.” In H. Klumpner, G. Theodore, & K.E. Papanicolaou (Eds.), SDG 11 Volume: Transitioning to Sustainable Cities & Communities, MDPI Publishers. https://doi.org/10.3390/books978-3-03897-871-8-13
Reports
Borofsky, Y., Perez-Arriaga, I.J. & R. Stoner. 2017. “A Model for Better Electrification Planning.” ABB Review.
USAID & NARUC. 2017. “Practical guide to the regulatory treatment of mini-grids.”
Yael Borofsky 