the research team
Linda is a Senior Research Fellow at the Urban Institute and the PI of Pluralize. Her research revolves around environmental politics, with a focus on urban climate governance, transformations, and justice. She joined the UI in 2019.
Dr Linda Westman
Shizhi Zhang is working as a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the PLURALIZE project.
In the project, his research focuses on the theorization of environmental justice through traditional Chinese philosophies and explores environmental justice transitions from a local perspective in contemporary China.
Dr Shizhi Zhang
Zhengli Huang is a Research Associate at the Urban Institute. She holds a PhD in architecture studying informal settlements in Kenya. Dr Huang worked extensively on slum upgrading projects in Kenya during and after her internship at UN-Habitat. She participated in other projects in Africa and subsequently delved into research on African cities, focusing on the impact of the state capital from China on the infrastructure development on the continent.
In PLURALIZE, Zhengli will analyze urban foreign investment projects to identify key players, construct socio-environmental investment profiles, and assess their implications for equitable urban development.
Dr Zhengli Huang
Drawing on her research background, Dr Vicky Simpson is the project manager of Pluralize. Vicky’s responsibilities include: project management and delivery; financial management; impact and dissemination; data management; stakeholder engagement; events coordination and research support.
Dr Vicky Simpson
board of advisors’ members
Prof Vanesa Castán Broto
Vanesa Castán Broto researches questions of climate change action, diversity, environmental justice, and urban development at the Urban Institute, University of Sheffield. She leads the research group on Climate Urbanism which has delivered multiple projects funded by the European Research Council, the British Academy, and the UK's Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) among others. Her last book is Community Energy and Sustainable Energy Transitions (2024, Palgrave).
Prof Kevin Lo
Kevin Lo is Department Chair and Associate Professor of Geography at Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU). He works at the intersection of environmental governance, politics, and justice. His recent work published in Energy Research & Social Science, entitled “Just Transition: A Conceptual Review”, is recognized as an ESI Highly Cited Paper.
Dr Ping Huang
Dr Ping Huang is an Associate Professor at the School of Public Policy at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen. He currently serves as the Deputy Director (Development) of the Institute for International Affairs, Qianhai. He is an Associate Editor of the Springer journal Asian Review of Political Economy and the Sage journal Transactions in Energy and Sustainability. His primary research focuses on sustainability transitions, geography of innovation, urban governance, and innovation policy.
Dr Linjun Xie
Dr Linjun Xie is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Geography at the National University of Singapore, specializing in urban sustainability transitions across climate, biodiversity, and society. Her research focuses on governance, planning, and transformation. Previously, she held positions at Durham University and the University of Nottingham Ningbo China and was a Lead Author for the IPBES Nexus Assessment Report.
Dr Federico Caprotti
Dr Federico Caprotti is an urban geographer at the University of Exeter. His research is focused on urban futures, especially platform urbanism, urban Artificial Intelligence, and urban infrastructures in the off-grid city.