Speaker:
Shenjing
He
Department Head and Professor - Department of Urban Pla
nning and Design\, University of Hong Kong
Talk title: Variegated urban entrepreneurialism and a conjunctura l analysis of the Chinese case
Abstract:
Since
its inception in the 1990s\, the concept urban entrepreneurialism has evolv
ed into variegated forms through intertwining with emergent trends in conte
mporary society. In this talk\, I first review how several influential tren
ds\, i.e.\, financialization\, environmentalization\, depoliticization\, ha
ve redefined contemporary urban entrepreneurialism. I will then locate this
concept in the Chinese context through situated and contextualized analyse
s of entrepreneurial discourses\, strategies\, policies\, and practices. Ca
ses from urban neighbourhoods\, small towns\, and global metropolises will
be briefly discussed to illustrate how variegated urban entrepreneurialism
is unfolded at multiscales and multidirections\, and reinforces uneven deve
lopment and inequalities under global capitalism and local conjunctures.
Speaker bio:
Shenjing He is Lady Edith Kotewall P
rofessor in the Built Environment\, Head of the Department of Urban Plannin
g and Design\, and Founding Director of the Social Infrastructure for Equit
y and Well-being (SIEW Lab) at the University of Hong Kong. She has publish
ed widely on topics of urban redevelopment/ gentrification\, urban and regi
onal governance\, urban-rural interface\, housing and well-being\, and heal
thy cities. In 2021\, she was elected to be a Fellow of the Academy of Soci
al Sciences (UK). Since 2023\, she has served as Co-Editor-in-Chief for Are
a Development and Policy\, and from 2012 to 2024 as an editor for Urban Stu
dies. At SIEW Lab\, she leads multiple research projects on education-featu
red gated communities\, multi-dimensional housing inequalities in megacitie
s\, cross-border governance in the Greater Bay Area\, rural revitalization
and conservation in Hong Kong.
Shenjing’s research interests cover urban redevelopment/gentrification\, policy mobili ty and entrepreneurial urbanism\, rural-urban migration and informal housin g\, urban development and housing price mechanism\, rural-urban interface\, and health geography. She has published more than 130 journal articles and book chapters in both Chinese and English. She is the co-author of “Urban Poverty in China” (Edward Elgar\, 2010)\, co-editor of “Locating Right to the City in the Global South” (Routledge\, 2013)\, “Urban living: Mobility\ , sociability\, and wellbeing” (Springer\, 2016)\, and “Changing China: Mig ration\, Communities and Governance in Cities” (Routledge\, 2017)\, “The Sp eculative City: Emergent Forms and Norms of the Built Environment” (Univers ity of Toronto Press\, 2021). She guest edited special issues for Environment and Planning A (2012)\, Urban Studi es (2015)\, Eurasian Geography and Economics (2015)\, Urban Geography (2017)\, Journal of Urban Affairs (2018)\, Geoforum (2018)\, Sustainable Cities and Society (2020)\, Cities (2021)\, Journal of Housing and the Built Environment (2021)\, Land (2021). Shenjing was listed by Elsevier as one of the most cited researchers in mainland Ch ina (social sciences) for six consecutive years (2015-2020) and HKU scholar in the top 1% since 2016. She was conferred the award of Fellow of the Aca demy of Social Sciences (FAcSS) in 2021. < /span>
In July 2020\, Shenjing established the SOCIAL INFRASTRUCTURE FOR EQUITY AND WELLBEI NG (SIEW) Lab\, aiming to interro gate the long-lasting and deep-seated problems of growth and inequality in three major types of urban social infrastructure\, namely housing\, healthc are\, and education\, with an ultimate interest in improving opportunity\, equity and wellbeing among urban citizens. For further details\, please vis it: https://www.siewlab.hku.hk/
This is hybrid e vent hosted in Geog 229 and on zoom.
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