About Me – Old

I am post-doctoral fellow in the Faculty of Social Work at the University of Calgary, Canada. Coming from the built environment background (Architecture, Landscape Architecture, Urban Planning, and Urban Design) and the social sciences (Social Work and Sociology), I draw on my knowledge and experience from an interdisciplinary perspective, as an international urban planner/designer and social worker, based in North America and China, to examine the complexities of urban social development and social justice interventions in global sustainable development.

As a planner/designer, my predilection for participatory action propels me out of the academic circle, to return to the local communities, engage with local residents’ daily lives, understand their social and cultural backgrounds, discover their urgent and practical social requirements and make efforts to translate their everyday needs into contributions to policies and plans that will guide long-term sustainable development. The same commitment to participatory action, as well, definitely inspires my teaching journey from undergraduate to graduate levels.I aim to strengthen students’ research, critical thinking and analytical skills, as well as encourage them towards new kinds of theoretical understandings through walking their own paths of participatory action.

My teaching and research journey is also my learning process. I am dedicated to bringing the lived experience to students and am committed to strengthening knowledge exchange about contemporary social problems among educational institutions and community organizations in both local and global contexts.

Education Background:

• Postdoctoral Research, Post-disaster Community Sustainability, University of Calgary, 2014-2016
• Doctor of Philosophy, Interdisciplinary Studies (Architecture, Landscape Architecture, Social Work, and Urban Planning), University of British Columbia, 2009-2014
• Master of Engineering in Architectural Design and Theory (Urban Design), Sichuan University, 2006-2009
• Bachelor of Engineering in Architecture (Honor), Sichuan University, 2001-2006