Social Transformations and Urban Transitions in China Symposium

This conference gathers scholars and experts from diverse fields in the United States and around the world to engage in a rigorous examination of the physical, social, and economic aspects of China’s ongoing urbanization. Discussions are organized under the unifying question of whether and how China’s urban planning paradigm has changed, considering these emergent socioeconomic transformations. The discussion revolves around the politics, social policies, and roles of public institutions, private actors, and civic participants in the dynamics of transformations that permeate from the national to local and translate between the physical and social environments.

Invited speakers will give presentations on the thematic panels, and significant opportunities for formal questions and discussion will be included in the schedule. Faculty members from the Department of Urban and Regional Planning will serve as moderators for the presentations.

University of Michigan, Professor of Urban and Regional Planning
Lan Deng is a professor of Urban and Regional Planning at the University of Michigan. She has been studying housing and real estate development in both the U.S. and China. Her research examines the different types of interventions the two countries have developed to provide decent housing and quality neighborhoods for their residents. In the U.S., the interventions she studied include major government housing programs as well as community-based initiatives. Her work in China examines the changing role of the state versus the development of private market in shaping the country’s housing and urban development. Professor Deng recently served as the Associate Director for the Lieberthal-Rogel Center for Chinese Studies at Michigan and is currently an editor for the international journal of Housing Studies. Professor Deng holds a Ph.D. in city and regional planning from the University of California, Berkeley, and an M.S. and B.S. from Peking University, China.

Professor, University of Colorado Boulder
Tim Oakes is professor of Geography at the University of Colorado Boulder. He is former Director of the Colorado Center for Asian Studies, and from 2018 to 2023 served as Project Director for China Made, an international research collective exploring sociotechnical dimensions of China's infrastructure-driven model of development.

Professor of Geography, Vice Provost for International Studies & Global Engagement, UCLA
Cindy Fan is professor of Geography and also Vice Provost for International Studies and Global Engagement at UCLA. She provides strategic leadership for the university’s international partnerships and agreements, represents UCLA globally, promotes international education and research, and oversees the International Institute. Dr. Fan received her PhD from the Ohio State University, and is internationally known for her research on migration, split households, gender, and regional development in China. She has numerous publications and has delivered keynotes across the world. Dr. Fan is formerly co-editor of the international journals Regional Studies and Eurasian Geography and Economics. She has received the UCLA Distinguished Teaching Award, Distinguished Scholar Awards from the American Association of Geographers, major grants from the Mellon Foundation, Henry Luce Foundation and National Science Foundation, and an Honorary Doctor of Laws from the University of Bristol. Dr. Fan is an elected member of the National Academy of International Education.

Professor & Department Head, Dept. of Earth, Geographic, and Climate Sciences, University of Massachusetts Amherst
Piper Gaubatz, Head, Department of Earth, Geographic, and Climate Sciences, University of Massachusetts Amherst, is an urban geographer specializing in the study of urban change, development and planning in East Asia. Educated at Princeton University, The University of California Berkeley, and Beijing (Peking) University, she has authored three books on Chinese cities and carried out field work in about a dozen Chinese cities over the past 35 years on topics ranging from the rise of cities in China’s frontier regions to transformations of socialist mass rally squares in the 21st century. Her current research interests include analysis of the changing role of public space in Chinese cities, an analysis of the diffusion of urban and environmental planning practices and ideologies from eastern China to western China, and ongoing research on urban environmental history in China.

Dean and Professor, College of Architecture and Urban Planning, Tongji University
Professor Lan Wang is the founder and head of the Healthy City Lab and Dean of the College of Architecture and Urban Planning at Tongji University, Shanghai, China. Her research focuses on healthy city planning and design, urban development strategy and planning, and methodology and technology for urban planning. Professor Wang serves as Deputy Director and Secretary-General of the China Healthy City Committee (2018-present), and Secretary General, National Steering Committee of Urban and Rural Planning Educationin China (2010-2019). She is also a member of the International Steering Committee of the British Healthy Cities Council and a council member of China's National Committee for Health lmpact Assessment (HlA). She has led seven research projects funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC), and more than 30 projects funded by the World Bank and different municipal governments in China. Her research and practice won the National Excellence Urban Planning and Design Award, the Shanghai Science and Technology Award, and the China Award for Science and Technology in Construction.

University at Albany, SUNY, Associate Vice Provost, Professor
Youqin Huang is a professor of Geography and Planning, and Associate Vice Provost at University at Albany, SUNY. She received her Ph.D. in Geography from University of California, Los Angeles. Her research aims to understand the impact of socioeconomic transformation and government policies, focusing on housing, migration, and health/wellbeing. She is the (co-) author of ten books, including "Housing Inequality in Chinese Cities, and Chinese Cities in the 21st Century." She has also published many papers in leading journals, including Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, The China Quarterly, Annals of American Association of Geographers, Urban Studies, and Housing Studies. She has received many accolades, including “Chancellor’s Awards for Excellence in Scholarship & Creative Activities” by SUNY, “President’s Excellence Award in Research and Creative Activities” and “President’s Award for Exemplary Public Engagement” by University at Albany, and “Outstanding Service Award” by American Association of Geographers China Geography Specialty Group.

Department of Geography, University of Oregon, Professor 
Xiaobo Su is a professor in the Department of Geography, University of Oregon. His research interest is in urban and regional development in China and mainland Southeast Asia. Specifically, he focuses on transnational regionalization, border politics, cross-border trade, and Chinese investment in mainland Southeast Asia. He has published two English books and over 40 journal articles. 

Professor of Geography, University of British Columbia
Jamie Peck, FRSC, FBA, FAcSS is professor of Geography, University Killam Professor, and Distinguished University Scholar at the University of British Columbia, Canada. With long-term research interests in economic geography, urban and regional studies, and institutional political economy, his recent books include "Variegated economies" (2023, Oxford), "Urban studies inside/out: theory, method, practice" (2020, Sage, coedited with H Leitner & E Sheppard), "Market/place: exploring spaces of exchange" (2020, Agenda, coedited with C Berndt & NM Rantisi), and "Offshore: exploring the worlds of global outsourcing" (2017, Oxford). Peck is the recipient of the Prix Vautrin Lud (“le Nobel de Géographie”), the American Association of Geographers’ Distinguished Scholarship Award, the Regional Studies Association’s Sir Peter Hall Award, and the Royal Geographical Society’s Back Award. He is the Managing Editor of the journal "EPA: Economy & Space" and the founder of the Summer Institute in Economic Geography.

University of Minnesota, Humphrey School of Public Affairs, Professor and Associate Dean for Faculty 
Dr. Yingling Fan is a professor and Associate Dean at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs, University of Minnesota. Her research emphasizes the health and equity dimensions of urban environments, envisioning cities as inclusive spaces that promote shared happiness and collective well-being. Dr. Fan’s visionary work on enhancing everyday urban experiences has garnered widespread recognition and has been featured in leading media outlets, including Time Magazine, National Geographic, The Atlantic, Forbes, and The Guardian. She spearheaded the development of Daynamica, a patented technology designed to digitally trace how people move, engage in daily activities, and experience their lives. As co-founder of Daynamica, Inc., she served as its inaugural Chief Executive Officer (2018–2021) and continues to guide the company’s growth as Chief Scientific Officer. 

Professor, Department of Urban Design and Planning, University of Washington
Qing Shen is a professor of Urban Design and Planning at the University of Washington and the Director of the Interdisciplinary PhD Program in Urban Design and Planning. His areas of academic interest are urban economics and transportation planning and policy. He has developed analytical frameworks for understanding urban spatial structure, examined the social consequences of automobile-oriented metropolitan development, and investigated the differential impacts of information and communication technologies (ICT) on population groups. His current research focuses primarily on what transit agencies should do in response to the challenges and opportunities brought by mobile ICT-enabled new mobility services, such as ride-hailing and on-demand micro transit. Professor Shen received his PhD degree in City and Regional Planning from University of California, Berkeley. He has served on the editorial boards of seven academic journals, including the Journal of the American Planning Association and the Journal of Planning Education and Research. He was a long-time member of the TRB Committee on Telecommunications and Travel Behavior.

• Xuanyi Nie, Assistant Professor, Urban and Regional Planning: xnie@buffalo.edu
• Li Yin, Associate Professor, Urban and Regional Planning: liyin@buffalo.edu
• Lucie Laurian, Chair and Professor, Urban and Regional Planning: lucielau@buffalo.edu
• Kristin Stapleton, Chair and Professor, History: kstaple@buffalo.edu

• University at Buffalo School of Architecture and Planning
• University at Buffalo The Baldy Center for Law and Social Policy
• University at Buffalo Asia Research Institute
• International Association for China Planning