He Shenjing

Professor Shenjing He joined the Department of Urban Planning and Design at The University of Hong Kong in January 2015. She served as Associate Dean (Research Postgraduate Studies) for the Faculty of Architecture at HKU from January 2020 to August 2021. Prior to joining HKU, she was Professor and Assistant Dean at the School of Geography and Planning, Sun Yat-sen University (2008-2014); Visiting Scholar at the Harvard Graduate School of Design (2014); and Research Fellow at the School of Planning and Geography, Cardiff University (2006-2008). She has been an editor for Urban Studies (SAGE) since 2012, and sits on the editorial board of Journal of Urban Affairs, Geography Compass (urban), International Planning Studies, Area Development and Policy, and Asian Geographer.

Shenjing’s research interests cover urban redevelopment/gentrification, policy mobility and entrepreneurial urbanism, rural-urban migration and informal housing, urban development and housing price mechanism, rural-urban interface, and health geography. She has published more than 130 journal articles and book chapters in both Chinese and English. She is the co-author of “Urban Poverty in China” (Edward Elgar, 2010), co-editor of “Locating Right to the City in the Global South” (Routledge, 2013), “Urban living: Mobility, sociability, and wellbeing” (Springer, 2016), and “Changing China: Migration, Communities and Governance in Cities” (Routledge, 2017), “The Speculative City: Emergent Forms and Norms of the Built Environment” (University of Toronto Press, 2021). She guest edited special issues for Environment and Planning A (2012), Urban Studies (2015), Eurasian Geography and Economics (2015), Urban Geography (2017), Journal of Urban Affairs (2018), Geoforum (2018), Sustainable Cities and Society (2020), Cities (2021), Journal of Housing and the Built Environment (2021), Land (2021). Shenjing was listed by Elsevier as one of the most cited researchers in mainland China (social sciences) for six consecutive years (2015-2020) and HKU scholar in the top 1% since 2016. She was conferred the award of Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences (FAcSS) in 2021.

In July 2020, Shenjing established the SOCIAL INFRASTRUCTURE FOR EQUITY AND WELLBEING (SIEW) Lab, aiming to interrogate the long-lasting and deep-seated problems of growth and inequality in three major types of urban social infrastructure, namely housing, healthcare, and education, with an ultimate interest in improving opportunity, equity and wellbeing among urban citizens.

Fields of Interest

• Urban redevelopment/gentrification
• Policy mobility and entrepreneurial urbanism
• Rural-urban migration and informal housing
• Urban development and housing price mechanism
• Neighbourhood governance
• Rural-Urban Interface
• Health geography

Teaching

• MHMP8008 Transitional Cities: Urban and Housing Development
• URBS1005 Urban Problems, Interventions and Design Thinking
• URBS2005 Research Methods for Urban Studies
• URBS4003 Urban Policy and Governance
• CCCH9002 Chinese Cities in the 21st Century

Distinction and Recognition

• HKU’ Top 1% Social Scientists (2016-2020) based on Essential Science Indicators (ESI). http://hub.hku.hk/local/top1pc/top1pc.jsp
• Most cited researcher in mainland China (social scientists), Elsevier, 2015-2020
• Top five most productive author in urban China studies (1990-2010), listed in: Lily Kong and Junxi Qian, 2019, Knowledge circulation in urban geography/urban studies, 1990–2010: Testing the discourse of Anglo-American hegemony through publication and citation patterns, Urban Studies 56(1), 44-80.
• Selected for HKU’s inaugural woman leadership program, The University of Hong Kong, 2017-2018
• Finalist, Award for Research Excellence 2019 (Academic category), the Royal Town Planning Institute, UK (https://www.rtpi.org.uk/knowledge/research/rtpi-awards-for- research-excellence/2019-rtpi-research-awards/#sl)
• First prize, Excellent published papers in Urban Geography, Urban Geography Research Committee, Chinese Geographical Society, 2017
• Outstanding Young Scientist Award, National Science Foundation of China, 2013
• Young Scientist Award in Geographical Sciences, Chinese Geographical Society, 2013
• Excellent Research Paper Prize in Higher Education Institutions, The Ministry of Education, China, 2013
• Excellent Research Paper Prize in Philosophy and Social Sciences, Guangdong Provincial Government, China, 2013
• First Prize, Excellent published papers by young urban scholars, Urban Geography Research Committee, Chinese Geographical Society, 2011

Grants

• Towards Sustainable and Inclusive Conservation and Revitalisation in Hing Chun Yeuk Seven Villages, Kuk Po and Fung Hang, Hong Kong, Countryside Conservation Funding Scheme – Research Activities on Countryside Conservation and Revitalisation, Environmental Protection Department, Hong Kong SAR Government, PI, 09/2021-08/2022
• The Rise of Education-featured Gated Communities in Chinese Cities: Formation Mechanism and Implications on Housing Differentiation, The Case of Guangzhou, UGC/GRF (Grant No. 17614720), PI, 01/2021-12/2023.
• “Equalization of and Accessibility to Basic Public Services in Developed Regions in China: Theorization and Practices”, National Social Science Foundation of China, Co-I, 04/2020-04/2022. (PI: Prof. Jiawen Yang, Peking University)
• “Effects of Environment-related Experiences on Older Person’s Well-being in Hong Kong’s “Double Ageing” Context: A Person-Environment Perspective”, Public Policy Research (PPR) Funding Scheme, Hong Kong SAR Government Co-I, 01/2020-12/2020 (PI: Dr. Yi Sun, Hong Kong Polytechnic University)
• Moving to and Working in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bay Area Among Hong Kong Residents: Intention, Experience and Settlement Outcomes, Strategic Public Policy Research Funding Scheme (S2018.A4.009.18S), Hong Kong SAR Government, Co-I, 03/2019-02/2022 (PI: Prof. Eric Fong, The University of Hong Kong)
• “The mechanism of low-income housing development and its integrative effects in urban China”, National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC), General Program, PI, 01/2019 -12/2022.
• “Advancing China’s Urbanization Inside Out: Urban Redevelopments in Chinese Cities Amidst Accelerated Urban Transition”, Collaborative Research Fund (CRF), Research Grants Council of Hong Kong, Co-PI, 06/2017-06/2020. (PI: Prof. George C.S. Lin, Department of Geography, The University of Hong Kong)
• Uneven Distribution of High-quality Healthcare Resources in Chinese Cities and Its Socio-spatial Implications, National Science Foundation of China (NSFC), General Program (Ref: 41671153), PI, 01/2017 -12/2020.
• Low-end Housing Provision under Financialisation and Its Socio-spatial Implications in Urban China, Lincoln Institute of Land Policy 2016 China Program International Fellowship, PI, 02/2016-02/2017.
• Residential Mobility in Chinese Cities in the Twenty-First Century: Implications for Housing Careers and Neighbourhood Governance (Ref: 12603615), UGC/GRF, Co-I, 09/2015-08/2017. (PI: Prof. Si-Ming Li, Department of Geography, Hong Kong Baptist University)
• Urban Socio-Spatial Restructuring in China, Excellent Young Scientists Fund, National Science Foundation of China (NSFC) (Ref: 41322003), PI, 01/2014 -12/2016.
• A political economy analysis of China’s urban redevelopment and its socio-spatial outcomes, National Science Foundation of China (NSFC), General Program (Ref: 41271180), PI, 01/2013 -12/2016.

Selected Recent Publications

• Cai, R., & He, S. (2022). Enacting urban entrepreneurialism through neighbourhood governance: A comparative study of Shanghai and Guangzhou, China. Journal of Urban Affairs, 1-16.
• Sun, Y., Ng, M. K., Chao, T. Y. S., He, S., & Mok, S. H. (2022). The impact of place attachment on well-being for older people in high-density urban environment: A qualitative study. Journal of Aging & Social Policy, 1-21.
• Wang, K., Qian, J., & He, S. (2022). From campaign-style governance to multiple environmentalities: Urban political ecologies of e-waste regulation in Guiyu, China, Urban Geography. DOI: 10.1080/02723638.2022.2092307
• Wang, L., He, S., Su, S., Li, Y., Hu, L., & Li, G. (2022). Urban neighborhood socioeconomic status (SES) inference: A machine learning approach based on semantic and sentimental analysis of online housing advertisements. Habitat International, 124, 102572. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.habitatint.2022.102572
• Cai, R., Hu, L., & He, S. (2022). Policy‐driven education‐led gentrification and its spatiotemporal dynamics: Evidence from Shanghai, China. The Geographical Journal. DOI: 10.1111/geoj.12440
• He, S., Li, C., Xiao, Y., & Liu, Q. (2022). Examining neighborhood effects on residents’ daily activities in central Shanghai, China: Integrating “big data” and “thick data”. Environment and Planning B: Urban Analytics and City Science, 23998083221078307.
• He, S. (2022). The rise of education-featured gated communities in Chinese cities: (Re)producing the enterprising self via the entrepreneurial local state-capital nexus. The Geographical Journal. DOI：https://doi.org/10.1111/geoj.12435
• Hu, L., He, S., Su, S. (2022), A novel approach to examining urban housing market segmentation: Comparing the dynamics between sales submarkets and rental submarkets. Computers, Environment and Urban Systems, 94, 101775. DOI: 10.1016/j.compenvurbsys.2022.101775
• Yan, X., Shan, L., He, S., & Zhang, J. (2022). Cross-city patient mobility and healthcare equity and efficiency: Evidence from Hefei, China. Travel Behaviour and Society, 28, 1-12.
• Hao, P., & He, S. (2022). What is holding farmers back? Endowments and mobility choice of rural citizens in China. Journal of Rural Studies, 89, 66-72.
• Wang, K., Qian, J., & He, S. (2021). Global destruction networks and hybrid e-waste economies: Practices and embeddedness in Guiyu, China. Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space, 308518X211061748.
• Li, L., Wan, W. X., & He, S. (2021). The heightened ‘Security Zone’ function of gated communities during the COVID-19 pandemic and the changing housing market dynamic: Evidence from Beijing, China. Land, 10(9), 983. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/land10090983
• 李志剛、何深靜及劉玉亭 (2021)。《中國城市地理叢書(七)：中國城市社會空間》。科學出版社。
• Li, Z., He, S., & Liu, Y. (2021). Urban Geography in China (7): Urban Social Space in China. Science Press.
• Zhu, J., He, S., & Hao, J. (2021). Growing rights consciousness of the marginalised and the reshuffling of the landlord–tenant power relationship: Examining a country park-induced displacement in Shanghai. Population, Space and Place. DOI: 10.1002/psp.2510
• Cai, R., Li, C., & He, S. (2021). Consciousness on property rights, homeowner associations and neighbourhood governance: Evidence from Shanghai. Cities, 119, 103350.
• Wang, K., Qian, J., & He, S. (2021). Contested Worldings of E-Waste Environmental Justice: Nonhuman Agency and E-Waste Scalvaging in Guiyu, China. Annals of the American Association of Geographers, 1-20.
• Cai, R., & He, S. (2021). Governing homeowner associations in China’s gated communities: the extension of state infrastructural power and its uneven reach. Urban Geography, 1-23.
• Su, S., He, S., Sun, C., Zhang, H., Hu, L., & Kang, M. (2021). Do landscape amenities impact private housing rental prices? A hierarchical hedonic modeling approach based on semantic and sentimental analysis of online housing advertisements across five Chinese megacities. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, 58, 126968.
• He S. (2020) Urban entrepreneurialism 2.0? Financialization, cross-scale dynamics, and post-political governance, Dialogues in Human Geography. 10 (3), 322-325.
• He, S. & Chang, Y. (2020) A Zone of Exception? Interrogating the hybrid housing regime and nested enclaves in China-Singapore Suzhou-Industrial-Park. Housing Studies. DOI: 10.1080/02673037. 2020.1814208
• Su, S., Zhang, J., He, S., Zhang, H., Hu, L., & Kang, M. (2020) Unraveling the impact of TOD on housing rental prices and implications on spatial planning: A comparative analysis of five Chinese megacities. Habitat International, 107, 102309.
• Zhang, M., & He, S. (2020). From Dissensus to Consensus: State Rescaling and Modalities of Power under the Belt and Road Initiative in Western China. Annals of the American Association of Geographers. DOI: 1080/24694452.2020.1823808
• Zhang, M., & He, S. (2020). Informal Property Rights as Relational and Functional: Unravelling the Relational Contract in China’s Informal Housing Market. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research. DOI: 1111/1468-2427.12927
• Zhang, M., & He, S. (2020). Who feels secure in customary tenure and why? A triangular framework of perceived tenure security in China’s small property right housing. Cities, 107, 102900.
• Yan, X., & He, S. (2020). The co-evolution of therapeutic landscape and health tourism in bama longevity villages, China: An actor-network perspective. Health & Place, 66, 102448.
• Yan, X., Dong, D., He, S., & Webster, C. (2020). Examining Trans-Provincial Diagnosis of Rare Diseases in China: The Importance of Healthcare Resource Distribution and Patient Mobility. Sustainability, 12(13), 5444.
• Li, Z., He, S., Su, S., Li, G., & Chen, F. (2020). Public Services Equalization in Urbanizing China: Indicators, Spatiotemporal Dynamics and Implications on Regional Economic Disparities. Social Indicators Research, 1-65.
• Hu, L., He, S., Luo, Y., Su, S., Xin, J., & Weng, M. (2020). A social-media-based approach to assessing the effectiveness of equitable housing policy in mitigating education accessibility induced social inequalities in Shanghai, China. Land Use Policy, 94, 104513.
• Song, G., Liu, L., He, S., Cai, L., & Xu, C. (2020). Safety perceptions among African migrants in Guangzhou and Foshan, China. Cities, 99, 102624.
• Yan, X, He, S, & Dong, D (2020). Determining How Far an Adult Rare Disease Patient Needs to Travel for a Definitive Diagnosis: A Cross-Sectional Examination of the 2018 National Rare Disease Survey in China. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(5).
• Hu, F, G C.S. Lin, A G.O. Yeh, He, S, Liu (2020). Reluctant policy innovation through profit concession and informality tolerance: A strategic relational view of policy entrepreneurship in China’s urban redevelopment. Public Administration and Development 40(1), 65-75.
• Wei, Z., Liu, Y., He, S., & Mo, H (2020). Housing differentiation in transitional urban China. Cities, 96, 102469.
• He, S, Zhang, M, Wei, Z. (2020) The state project of crisis management: China’s Shantytown Redevelopment Schemes under state-led financialization. Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space, 52 (3), 632-653
• Zhang, J., & He, S. (2020). Smart technologies and urban life: A behavioral and social perspective. Sustainable Cities and Society, 63. 102460. 1-4
• He, S, Wang, D, Webster C., Chau, KW. (2019) Property rights with price tags? Pricing uncertainties in the production, transaction and consumption of China’s small property right housing. Land Use Policy 81, 424-433.
• He, S, and J Wang (2019). State-led creative/cultural city making and its contestations in East Asia: A multi-scalar analysis of the entrepreneurial state and the creative class. Geoforum 106, 305-309.
• He, S (2019) The creative spatio-temporal fix: Creative and cultural industries development in Shanghai, China. Geoforum 106, 310-319.
• He, S(2019) Three waves of state-led gentrification in China, Tijdschrift voor economische en sociale geografie, 110(1), 26-34.
• Wang, K & He, S (2019) Unraveling the marginalization of new generation peasant workers in China: Cultural reproduction and symbolic construction. Journal of Urban Affairs41(3), 282-304.
• Zhou, H, He, S, Cai, Y, Wang, M, Su, S (2019) Social inequalities in neighborhood visual walkability: Using Street View imagery and deep learning technologies to facilitate healthy city planning. Sustainable Cities and Society101605.
• Hu, L, He, S, Han, Z, Xiao, H, Su, S, Weng, M, Cai, Z (2019) Monitoring housing rental prices based on social media: An integrated approach of machine-learning algorithms and hedonic modeling to inform equitable housing policies. Land Use Policy82: 657-673.
• Wang, D, He, S, Webster, C, Zhang, X (2019). Unravelling residential satisfaction and relocation intention in three urban neighborhood types in Guangzhou, China. Habitat International, 85, 53-62.
• Yu, M, He, S, Wu, D, Zhu, H, Webster, C (2019) Examining the Multi-Scalar Unevenness of High-Quality Healthcare Resources Distribution in China. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16(16), 2813.