Prof. ZHANG Xiaoling (張晓玲)

Prof. Zhang is a sustainability scientist who uses data analytic approaches that include spatial econometrics/nightlight data, nature-based solutions, complex network, management/economic models, and shared socioeconomic pathways as interdisciplinary approaches to identify, monitor, assess and simulate the commonalities, particularities, as well as interactions among ecology, economic and social systems in shifting towards sustainability and resilience. In recent years, she has dedicated herself to research with lasting impact and significant significance, such as sustainable and smart cities under the constraints of energy and environment, fossil energy conversion/system optimization models and technologies from the perspective of climate change, and sustainable built environment from the perspective of carbon neutrality. She tries to enrich the theoretical framework of sustainability science, construct modular environment-engineering-geographic information and remote sensing-economy-management assessment models by using cutting-edge technologies such as satellite remote sensing and machine learning, integrate natural and environmental occurrence and interaction process models, geographic information system models, economic and technical models, life cycle input-output models, and form a full-process sustainable development methodology.

Under the theoretical umbrella of sustainability science, she has made substantial contribution in the following areas: (1) basic research underpinning sustainability science and engineering management; (2) low carbon and carbon neutral studies, climate change, resource management, energy transformation and governance at Asian and global scale; (3) industry sustainability, socioecological systems and circularity in production and consumption systems; (4) global and local urbanization and land use change: theoretical critiques, processes, drivers, and consequences; (5) paradoxical trade-off between “ecology” versus “economy” at enterprises and industry level.

So far, she has published more than 200 international journal articles, with a total of 17,538 Google Scholar citations and an h-index of 74. She was named as a Clarivate Highly Cited Researcher in 2022. Since 2020, she has also been ranked as Top 2% scientist (Stanford University) for three consecutive years. She has won the President's Award of the City University of Hong Kong for twice and was awarded the 2018 WCC Special Recognition Award (World Cultural Council); She is also a member of the State Key Laboratory of Marine Pollution at the City University of Hong Kong and serves as Co-Editor-in-Chief of Land Use Policy, Associate Editor of npj Urban Sustainability (Nature partner), Associate Editor of Development in the Built Environment (DIBE) Journal, and Editorial Board Member of several other international journals. At CityU, she is leading the Smart City Cluster. She has given more than 30 Keynote/Planetary Speeches at international conferences. Lately, one edited book has been published, titled as '减缓气候变化经济学 (The Economics of Climate Change Mitigation) (中国社会科学出版社, 2022)'.

Xiaoling is currently working on several projects:

• Green Finance and Carbon Neutral Strategy
• Data analytics in smart and sustainable city
• Circularity and resilience in production and consumption sectors
• Climate change and pro-environment behaviors
• Energy and environmental modeling and economics

For more details of Xiaoling’s work, please refer to Google Scholar Citations

• Environment and energy studies
• Housing and Urban studies
• ESG, CSR and carbon neutral strategy
• Sustainability Science
• Macro-level dynamics in urbanization/ housing policy/ land use planning, etc

• Contemporary issues on Housing management
• Housing Economics and Finance
• Housing and Urban Policy