Taubman College Xiaofan Liang will join Taubman College as an assistant professor of urban and regional planning in January 2024. Currently a Ph.D. candidate at the School of Regional Planning at the Georgia Institute of Technology, Liang holds a Master’s in City and Regional Planning from Georgia Tech, a B.S. in Computational Science from Minerva University, and a B.A. in Sociology from the University of California, Berkeley.
Liang’s research interests are to support social life in cities and participatory/collaborative processes in planning through urban analytics. Network science, complex systems, and critical & participatory approaches in GIS and planning largely inspire her work. Her research is grounded in pursuing authentic human connections and social inclusion in cities.
Liang said, “Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning and the University of Michigan is a perfect place to develop cutting-edge research and to create new collaborations. I am excited to support social life and participatory planning practices in Ann Arbor and the greater Detroit area through urban analytics. As an instructor, I am committed to grounding my teaching in the pursuit of social justice, resilience, and inclusive decision-making in cities by exposing students to the complexity of data production, biases, and normative implications.”
