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Li Yu

Professor Li Yu

Teams and roles for Li Yu

Overview

Li YU is the Director of the China-UK Research Centre for Eco-cities and Sustainable Development. He has been selected and/or recommended as a member of the Board Director of the Chinese Society for Urban Studies, a member of the Chinese Eco-city Council, and various academic and professional committees. He is also an adjunct professor of China Executive Leadership Academy Pudong, (CELAP is a Chinese national institution responsible for training Chinese senior and middle-level government leaders and high-level business executives), and other universities in China and other countries.

Li YU's main research interests include planning systems and theories, international comparative planning and development, and policy research on city and regional development, such as integrated urban and rural development, low carbon, eco-liveable city and rural planning and development.

In the last decade, Li Yu’s research has focused on planning and policymaking for sustainable urban and rural development, particularly emphasising sustainable development in China. He has conducted innovative explorations in this field, resulting in research that has garnered international attention. Scholars from nearly 20 countries have cited my papers. Additionally, Li Yu was recognised as a top impact scholar in China, ranking within the top 1% of cited authors based on citations of my papers from 2014 to 2023. In the year of 2024, he initiated and conceptualised the "International Student Planning and Design Competition for Biodiversity Study Tourism to Promote Rural Revitalisation" in Hainan, China, which has received important media coverage (see: https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202501/21/WS678eda59a310a2ab06ea828c.html ),(https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/news/view/2895492-international-university-student-planning-and-design-competition-held-in-china),  (https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/O22TFq66C1Ng7XDzEPKoPg). This illustrates the contribution of Cardiff University and its academics to international collaboration on sustainable development.

Before he joined Cardiff University, he used to work at the China Academy of Urban Planning and Design. He has both academic research and practical professional planning and policy-making experiences. In the last few years, the main research projects that were led and/or participated in consist of smart\low carbon eco-city development, rural revitalisation and development, and ecological transition of various cities. Some of his research projects have made significant impacts on policies in practices, such as “Roadmap and Mechanism on Rural Revitalisation”, “Chinese Eco-city Indicator System”, “Chinese Eco-city Development Guidelines” and "Progressing Eco-city Policies into Main-stream Practice - Action Research on Policy, Financing and Implementation Strategies for Low Carbon Cities in China".

 

 

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Research

RECENT RESEARCH PROJECTS 

  • “Research and Piloting for Strengthening High-quality Development Frameworks with a Focus on Promoting Ecological, Biodiversity Conservation and Carbon Neutrality”, the World Bank's GEF7 China Green and Carbon Neutral Cities Project
  • Promoting Rural Development and Revitalisation through Biodiversity Educational Tourism
  •  Research on the Mechanism and Pathway of Coordinated Development of Large, Small and Medium-sized Cities Based on Commonwealth, National Social Science Foundation of China
  • Theoretical and Practical Research on the Development of Digital Countryside in Shandong Province under the Background of Uncertainty, Shandong Provincial Social Science Planning Research Project (22CSDJ51)
  • Historical Culture of Ethnic Minority Rural Settlements in Liaoning Province Based on the Theory of Two Mountains, Liaoning Provincial Social Science Planning Research Fund (L20BMZ005)
  • Innovation for All: Promoting the Sustainable Revitalisation and Development of Rural Areas in Less Developed Western China through Innovative Mechanisms
  • Ecological Development Model Research for Dongguan Riverside Economic Development Area.
  • Adaptation to Climate Change and Implementation of Ecological Economic Development Pattern for Building Beautiful, Liveable and Environmental Towns, Dongguan, China 
  • Smart Eco-cities for a Green Economy: a Comparative Study of Europe and China, EU-China joint research project

Contact Details

Research themes

Specialisms

  • Sustainble development and planning
  • Smart and low carbon cities and countryside
  • International comparative planning and development