Dr Kristen Zhao is a lecturer and core member of the Complexity, Planning and Urbanism [CPU]lab. She uses urban planning theories and data analytics to understand liveability and foster sustainable urban futures. Her expertise in design, analytics, and programming is synthesised in research, leading to key contributions in tactical urbanism and urban experimentation. Her PhD dissertation on urban experimentation challenges traditional design paradigms through a global analysis of tactical urbanism (Awarded Outstanding Rating, Top 5%). She has published ten peer-reviewed articles in leading journals, including Environment and Planning B and Landscape and Urban Planning. 

Academic background:

  • PhD in Urban Planning and Design, The University of Hong Kong
  • Master in Urban Spatial Analytics, University of Pennsylvania
  • Bachelor of Science in Landscape Architecture, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Research

Reports

Zhao, K., 2025. 'Policy Brief: Improving Street Urban Design Through Co-creation'.

Journal Articles

Zhao, K.J., Sun, G., 2025. 'Beyond temporary measures: How experiential learning in street experiments shapes urban mobility transitions', Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions, 57, pp. 101007-101007.

Zhao, K.J., Chang, R.A., Sun, G., 2025. 'Experiment unlearned: unpacking leadership and learning of key actors in a Hong Kong street experiment', Journal of Urban Mobility, 7.

Zhao, J., Sun, G., Webster, C., 2024. 'Global Street Experiment: A Geospatial Database of Pandemic-induced Street Transitions', Landscape and Urban Planning, 242.

Zhao, J., Sun, G., Webster, C., 2022. 'Does China-Pakistan Economic Corridor improve connectivity in Pakistan? A protocol assessing the planned transport network infrastructure', Journal of Transport Geography, 100.

Lu, Y., Zhao, J., Wu, X., Lo, S.M., 2021. 'Escaping to nature during a pandemic: a natural experiment in Asian cities during the COVID-19 pandemic with big social media data', Science of the Total Environment, 777.

Sun, G., Du, Y., Ni, M.Y., Zhao, J., Webster, C., 2021. 'Metro and elderly health in Hong Kong: protocol for a natural experiment study in a high-density city', BMJ Open, 11 (3).

Zhao, J., Sun, G., Webster, C., 2021. 'Walkability scoring: why and how does a three-dimensional pedestrian network matter?', Environment and Planning B: Urban Analytics and City Science, 48 (8), pp. 2418-2435.

Sun, G., Zhao, J., Webster, C., Lin, H., 2020. 'New metro system and active travel: A natural experiment', Environment International, 138.

Long, Y., Zhao, J., 2020. 'What makes a city bikeable? A study of intercity and intracity patterns of bicycle ridership using mobike big data records', Built Environment, 46 (1), pp. 55-75.