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Primary supervisor: Dr Ying Jin; secondary supervisor: Dr Jamil Nur

Lingzi Pan

 

Research: 

There is more to life than the cold numbers of GDP and economic statistics. In fact, amenities at localities can reflect the part of satisfaction of individuals and households that are not derived from traditional market goods consumption. This is also the reason why a single index of money income is not the perfect measurement for quality of life and the degree of deprivation among areas. 

This leads to a new question of searching a better way to modelling amenities, as well as a way to incorporating the subjective results of life experiences and the under-studied dimension of social connectedness into urban studies, since it is a crucial aspect that continues to be named by people as a core impediment for achieving well-being. In addition, social interactions, especially the outdoor social activities are closely related to traditional urban modelling elements, such as the geographic distances and the ease of travel. 

Measuring social connectedness in a detailed geographic level can be challenging, but it is believed to be a research topic that is not only intellectually impactful in terms of theory and methodology, but also beneficial for the next phase of sustainable and equitable urban growth, especially during and after the Covid pandemic world. 

 

Biography: 

Lingzi Pan is a first year PhD student. Her research interests focus on housing spatial analysis, urban amenities and modelling, and regional inequalities. She received a MPhil degree from the University of Cambridge and completed her BSc in the Bartlett school of Planning at UCL. Her MPhil dissertation research examines the housing affordability for the lowest income residents in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, which is considered to be an increasing important topic in an area of high economic growth and rising divide between the richer and poorer residents.