Lady Edith Kotewall Professorship in the Built Environment

In the grand tapestry of existence, the built environment stands as a testament to human ingenuity and aspiration. Constantly evolving throughout centuries, mankind has crafted settlements of different sizes and forms. These settlements are not mere structures of concrete, steel, and glass; they are the vessels of wisdom, aspirations and hopes. The built environment is not an isolated entity but rather a dynamic component of the complex urban system, actively interacting with both natural and social environments. It is therefore essential to balance economic imperatives with environmental sustainability, social equity and well-being, to plan and govern sustainable and inclusive built environments that are conducive to human flourishing.

Professor Shenjing He is Lady Edith Kotewall Professor in the Built Environment and Head of the Department of Urban Planning and Design, Faculty of Architecture, The University of Hong Kong (HKU). Her research interests focus on urban (re)development, urban governance, rural-urban integration, climate gentrification, housing and wellbeing, housing and education inequalities, and health cities. Professor He has published over 180 papers and book chapters, five refereed scholarly books, and was listed as Top 2% Scientist by Stanford University and Top 1% Scholar by Clarivate Analytics (2016-2023).

Professor He was elected to be a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences (UK) in 2021. She has served as the Co-Editor-in-Chief for Area Development and Policy since 2023, Editor for Urban Studies since 2012, and Associate Editor for Journal of Rural Studies (2019-2020). She also sits on the editorial board of Asian Geographer, International Planning Studies, Territory, Politics, Governance, and the Geographical Journal. Besides, she has taken up many leadership roles in the international academic community, including Chair of the Asia Pacific Network for Housing Research (2021- present); Chair of the China Geography Specialty Group, American Association of Geographers (2020-2021); Co-Director of Urban China Research Network (UCRN) (2021-present); Steering Committee Member for the Urban Commission, International Geographical Union (IGU); International Association of China Planning (IACP).

During the past two decades, Professor He has devoted herself to better understand the intersections between housing, healthcare and education in Chinese cities and examine their interactive dynamics and implications on social equality and wellbeing. In 2021, she established the Social Infrastructure for Equity and Wellbeing (SIEW) Lab, probing the long-lasting and deep-seated problems of uneven provision of and unequal accessibility to major urban social infrastructure, with an ultimate interest in improving opportunity, equity and well-being among urban citizens. Since 2022, Professor He serves as the executive deputy director of the Urban Systems Institute at HKU. More recently, she has developed a strong interest in examining the interactions between the built, social and natural environments and their impacts on human societies.

Professor He’s research has generated far-reaching impact beyond the academia. She has been an active member serving the local and international communities in achieving sustainable development goals (SDG), including SDG1-No Poverty, SDG3-Good Health and Well-being, SDG4-Quality Education, SDG10-Reduced Inequalities, SDG11-Sustainable Cities and Communities, as well as SDG13-Climate Action.