Jianxiang Huang

Jianxiang Huang is an assistant professor in the Department of Urban Planning and Design at the University of Hong Kong (HKU). He is interested in the shaping of the built environment to enhance human well-being and resource efficiency. At HKU, he leads research projects to assess the thermal, acoustic and building energy performances in high density cities. He is the author of CityComfort+, a computer simulation tool that is equipped to simulate pedestrian comfort in outdoor urban spaces. Huang is a member of the Sustainable High Density Cities Lab and Healthy High Density Cities Lab, both are interdisciplinary research centers across disciplines of Engineering, Medicine, and Architecture. He studies place-making using geo-located social media data and he coordinates the Master of Urban Design programme at HKU.

Prior to a career in academia, Huang worked as an architect and urban designer in China and USA. He worked on projects that received awards from the Society of College and University Planning (SCUP), International Downtown Association (IDA), the American Institute of Architects (AIA), and the Boston Society of Architects (BSA). He is a LEED accredited professional, a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP), and a former member of the board of directors of the International Association for China Planning (IACP). Huang holds a Doctor of Design from Harvard University, a Master in City Planning from MIT, a M.Arch and a B.Arch from Tsinghua University.

Research Clusters

• Sustainable High Density Cities Lab
• Healthy High Density Cities Lab
• Sustainable Urban Development and High-density Environment
• Centre for Urban Studies and Urban Planning

Supervision

• PhD – Mengdi Guo
• PhD – Anqi Zhang
• Master Student Theses

Experiences

• Assistant Professor, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China : 2013-pre.
• Visiting Professor, Gdansk University of Technology, Poland
• Urban Designer, Sasaki Associate, Boston, USA : 2007-2010

Grants

• “Heat & Tweet: A Multi-City Study of Outdoor Activities and Thermal Comfort in Open Spaces Using Social Media Data”, Seed Fund for Basic Research for Resubmission of GRF/ECS Proposals
• “An integrated simulation model of urban microclimate and building energy in high-density cities for early stage design”, National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC)
• “A numerical model to assess 3D urban acoustic environment in high-density cities”, Small Equipment Grant
• “Urban Canopy Layer Modelling in High Density Cities”, Seed Fund for Basic Research
• “Simulation of Urban-Scale Thermal Environment for Inhabitants (SUSTEIN)”, Seed Fund for Basic Research
• “Towards a General Simulation Platform for Urban Microclimate: Case Study of Hong Kong, San Francisco and Boston”, Seed Fund for Basic Research for New Staff

Selected Publication

• Yang, L., Ho, J., Wong, F., Chang, K., Chan, K.L., Wong, M.S., Ho, H.C., Yuen, J., Huang, J., & Siu, J. (2020). Neighbourhood green space, perceived stress and sleep quality in an urban population. Urban Forestry and Urban Greening, 54, 126763.
• Guo, M., Huang, J., & Ni, M. Y. (2019). 3D built-environment attributes and household road traffic noise exposure in Hong Kong. IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, 329.
• DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/329/1/012012
• Liang, W. L., Huang, J., Jones, P. J., Wang, Q., & Hang, J. H. (2018). A zonal model for assessing street canyon air temperature of high-density cities. Building and Environment, 132, 160-169.
• DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2018.01.035
• Webster, C. J., Chiaradia, A. J. F., Gallacher, J. E. J., Huang, J., Jiang, B., Kumari, S., Melbourne, S. J., Ni, M. Y., Pryor, M. R., Sarkar, C., Sun, G., Tang, D. S. W., Zhang, X., & Sullivan, W. C. S. (2017). Being More Precise About The Smart In Smart Cities. In K. Tang (Ed.), Hong Kong Institute of Planners Journal (Issue 31, pp.3-24). Hong Kong, Hong Kong Institute of Planners.
• Huang, J., Jones, P., Peng, R., Li, X., & Hou, S. (2017). An integrated model for urban microclimate and building energy in high-density cities for early stage design. Building Simulation 2017, 1204-1211.
• DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.26868/25222708.2017.313
• Huang, J.; Zhou, C.; Zhuo, Y.; Xu, L.; Jiang, Y. (2016) “Outdoor Thermal Environments and Activities in Open Space: An Experiment Study in Humid Subtropcal Climates” Building and Environment, vol.103, pp. 238-249
• Huang, J.; Zhang, Q.; Li, L.; Yang, Y.; Chiaradia, A.; Pryor, M.; Webster, C. (2016), “Happiness and High-rise Living: Sentiment Analysis of Geo-Located Twitter Data in Hong Kong’s Housing Estates” Proceedings of the 52ndISOCARP Congress, Durban, South Africa [12 September 2016]
• Huang, J.; Wang, Y.; Rong, P.; Yang, Y.; Spengler, J.D.; Tomasso, L. (2016) “Urban Microclimate & Pedestrian Comfort in Dense Cities”, Urban Environment Design, vol.101, Issue 06, pp.266-273
• Webster, C.; Chiaradia, A.; Gallacher, J.; Huang J.; Jiang, B.; et al. (2016) “Being more precise about the ‘smart’ in Smart Cities”, Planning & Development, Vol.26, Issue 1.
• Huang, J.; Zhang, A.; Peng, R. (2015), “Evaluating the MultiZone Model for Street Canyon Airflow in High Density Cities” Proceedings of the 14th Conference of the International Building Performance Simulation Association, Hyderabad, India, [9 December 2015]
• Huang, J.; Cedeño-Laurent, J.G.; Spengler, J.D. (2014), “CityComfort+: A Simulation-Based Method for Predicting Mean Radiant Temperature in Dense Urban Areas”, Building and Environment, vol. 80, pp.84-95.
• Lai, D.; Zhou, C.; Huang, J.; Jiang, Y.; Long, Z.; Chen, Q. (2014), “Outdoor Space Quality: A Field Study in an Urban Residential Community in Central China”, Energy and Buildings, vol. 68 Part B pp. 713-720.
• Huang, J.; Zhuo, Y.; Xu, L.; Zhou, C. (2014) Thermal Comfort and Outdoor Activities in China’s Residential Communities: The Wuhan Experiment, Proceedings of the 2014 Indoor Air Conference, Hong Kong [July 2014]
• Huang, J.; Qiu, Y. (2012), “Sustaining Public Housing: Case Study of Boston’s Castle Square Apartments”, Urban Flux, Issue 3, p.47-49.