Talks with the Editorial Board - Prof. Jin Zhu

Jin Zhu is currently an assistant professor at the The University of Hong Kong (HKU), holding a joint appointment at both the Department of Real Estate and Construction and the Department of Urban Planning and Design. Before joining HKU, he was an assistant professor at the City University of Hong Kong. He earned his Bachelors and Masters degrees in China before completing his PhD at the University of New South Wales in Australia.

What is your current research focus?

My research aims to connect two very important research areas, urban planning and housing studies. We know that urban planning policies and practices have substantial impacts on the housing market and housing outcomes, but the relationship between them is somehow overlooked.

I was trained as a professional planner and had some industry experience in China before starting my PhD in housing studies; I worked as a planner in Shanghai one year full time and three years part time. That can partly explain my research interests and, besides that, I'm also interested in studying new challenges faced by our cities and habitats, including urbanization, migration, sustainability, and relevant governance issues.

Are you involved in any specific research projects at the moment?

Currently I'm working on a project about commercial to residential conversion in Chinese cities. Internationally, such conversion is nothing new, as seen in the UK's permitted development rights, but in Chinese cities, such conversions take place without planning or zoning permissions. Thus, converted housing is becoming an important type of informal, or unauthorised, housing in Chinese mega cities, but the illegal status may expose existing tenants and residents to insecure occupancy. A protest took place in Shanghai several years ago linked to the emergence of this new housing type. Therefore, I think this topic needs more in-depth research, especially considering its large market share in Chinese cities.

"Converted housing is becoming an important type of informal, or unauthorised, housing in Chinese mega cities, but the illegal status may expose existing tenants and residents to insecure occupancy"

What do you think is the value of planning research for practice?

I think that modern urban planning was born to address real world issues. Therefore, planning research can, and should, have a great influence on practices. I do find it very interesting that in China planning research and theoretical discussion may quickly influence planning practices. Perhaps this is due to the multiple identities of Chinese planning scholars. Some of them are also planning practitioners and some also work as advisors for local governments. Furthermore, planning schools usually have associated planning institutes so that academics can also have planning practices. I think this is very interesting and should be encouraged because I believe that by operating in this way planning research and practice can be more connected and mutually bolstered.

Do you also know of planning practitioners who contribute to academic discussion? And in your opinion, how might they contribute more to planning debates?

You can always find Chinese planning practitioners that publish articles in Chinese planning journals. Planning institutes in China usually also have a research centre branch to generate research outputs based on their planning practices. Moreover, the planning practitioners also actively participate in China's annual National Planning Congress. I think this is a great opportunity to foster discussion and debate between planning scholars and planning practitioners.

For you, what is the most important planning book or article that you think every planning practitioner or researcher should read?

I think it should be Taylor's Urban Planning Theory since 1945 (1998). This book, I think, does a great job of summarising the shifts in planning thought over time. We can clearly see how planning theory has been constantly enriched since the immediate post-war years. We can clearly appreciate that the process of paradigm shift in planning has not been linear but instead has been an accumulation of smaller changes in different directions, rather than a wholesale evolution. This, I think, should also encourage contemporary planning scholars and practitioners to further enrich the planning thought towards something more ideal.

"The process of paradigm shift in planning has not been linear but instead has been an accumulation of smaller changes in different directions"

Taylor, N. (1998) Urban Planning Theory since 1945, London: Sage.

Our talk with Professor Jin Zhu is part of a series of interviews we are undertaking looking into the experiences and current projects of our Editorial Board members.

If you have any questions or feedback, for Jin or for us, then we want to hear from you in the comments below or on our LinkedIn Page.