Land Use Planning; Urban Renewal; New Towns; Geographic Information Systems; Transport and Big Data; Urban Planning and Development in Hong Kong and China, and S.E. Asia

I joined the Centre in 1981 after working as a Research Officer of the Strategic Planning Unit of the Hong Kong Government. I am now the Chair Professor of Department of Urban Planning and Design, Director of the Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Research Centre and the Deputy Convenor of Contemporary China Studies Strategic Research Area of the University. I have been the Dean of the Graduate School, Director of Centre of Urban Studies and Urban Planning, Director of Institute of Transport Studies and Head of Department of Urban Planning and Design, My main areas of specialization are urban planning and development in Hong Kong, China, and SE Asia, and the applications of geographic information systems in urban and regional planning. I was elected as an Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2003, Fellow of TWAS (The Academy of Sciences for the Developing World) in 2010, and Academician of the Academy of Social Sciences in UK in 2013.  I was the recipient of the 2008 UN-HABITAT Lecture Award in recognition of  outstanding and sustained contribution to research, thinking and practice in human settlements development and planning and 2012 Dr. Gill-Chin Lim Global Award presented in the 53rd Annual Conference of Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning (ACSP) held in Cincinnati, USA, in November 2012, in recognition of global commitment and leadership as a scholar and an educator in the field of humanistic globalization..  I am at present President of Asia Geographic Information System Association. I was Secretary-General of the Asian Planning Schools Association (APSA) and Asia Geographic Information System Association.I have been Chairman of the Hong Kong Geographical Association, Vice-President of the Hong Kong Institute of Planners (HKIP), Vice-president of the Commonwealth Association of Planners (CAP), Programme Director of the Geographic/Land Information Technology Programme of the Commonwealth Association of Planners (CAP), Founding President of the Hong Kong Geographic Information System Association (HKGISA), and Chairman of the Geographic Information Science Commission of the International Geographic Union (IGU). I am also honorary professor at various major universities and research institutes in China, including Institute of Geography, Beijing; Tongji University, Shanghai; Zhongshan University, Guangzhou, and Wuhan University, Wuhan. Apart from working in Hong Kong and China, I have done fieldwork in Thailand, Malaysia, Japan, Taiwan, and the Philippines. I have been invited to attend many expert group meetings of the United Nations Centre of Regional Development (UNCRD) and United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). I have conducted many CPD training courses on urban planning and management and geographic information systems in Hong Kong and China. I have served on various planning related bodies of the Hong Kong Government. At present I am a member of the editorial board of Computers, Environment and Urban System, Transactions in GIS, Progress in Planning, International Planning Studies and other international journals. I have been a member of the Planners Registration Board, Transport Advisory Committee, Town Planning Appeal Board, Member of the Pan-PRD Panel of the Central Policy Unit and Chairman of the Transport Complaint Unit of the Hong Kong SAR Government. At present, I am a member of the Appeal Tribunal (Buildings Ordinance). I have been invited to participate in many expert group meetings on master plans of Chinese cities, such as Guangzhou , Zhuhai, Shenzhen, and Hangzhou.