I am an associate professor in spatial planning and digitalization at the Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning, Utrecht University. I have a long-standing interest in conducting interdisciplinary and innovative research to address complex governance problems, conflicts of interest in urban planning, and challenges to sustainability. My current interests include collaborative planning/governance, digital planning, and planning support science for inclusive and sustainable development. I have conducted research on the application of new digital technologies (e.g., planning support systems, social media, smart platforms, and artificial intelligence) in assisting citizen participation and stakeholder collaboration in urban regeneration, water governance, green infrastructure, and other urban domains. I am interested in how digital technologies can improve planning/governance processes and outcomes for sustainable urban futures. I have developed innovative mixed methods approaches such as combining qualitative methods with social media data analytics, network analysis, and statistical/computational models. My research has been recognized by European Research Council (ERC), and I have been awarded an ERC Starting Grant (2021-2026) to establish my team for investigating Collaborative Planning in China with the Impact of New Media. Besides, I have conducted intensive research on housing provision and policies, social and economic integration of migrants, accessibility and equity, and the impact of e-commerce and digtial platforms on urbanism. I have been involved in a research project funded by the Dutch Research Council (NWO) in collaboration with NSFC about Urban Housing of Migrants in China and the Netherlands. Additionally, I have been involved in planning practices and socio-technological innovation. My research contributes to bridging the gap between theory and practice.
I have published more than 50 articles in leading international journals, such as Urban Studies, Cities, Landscape and Urban Planning, Computers, Environment and Urban Systems, International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Planning Theory, Telecommunications Policy, Journal of Cleaner Production, and Environment and Planning B. I am co-editing a special issue on "Digital Planning for Sustainable Urban Future" in Computers, Environment and Urban Systems. I also co-edited two books: "Smart Governance and New Forms of Collaborative Planning" (The Commercial Press) and "Village in the City: Asian Variations of Urbanisms of Inclusion" (Park Books). I have been invited to present my research at many international conferences, and was a member of the local committee of the 13th International Conference on Computer in Urban Planning and Urban Management (CUPUM) and the organizer of the section “Planning Support Systems: Participation”. Besides, I am an external expert of the Swiss National Science Foundation and a reviewer of more than 30 ISI-indexed journals and Elsevier books. I am the editorial board of Urban Governance and Big Data and Smart Cities Research Book Series.