Institute Fellow

Professor HUANG Yaoxuan Virginia

Prof Virginia Yaoxuan Huang’s policy research examines land-use policy and urban governance in high-density Asian cities, with a geographical focus on Hong Kong and Mainland China. Methodologically, she bridges academic research and policy practice through the lens of urban economics and spatial econometrics, translating complex spatial data into evidence that informs land-use decisions, housing policy, and urban governance reforms. Her work on social equity investigates how land and housing markets distribute opportunity and vulnerability, including studies of sub-divided units (SDUs) in Hong Kong’s rental market and the affordability pressures generated by new town development. A second strand of her research addresses the challenge of building inclusive cities for an aging society, encompassing her evaluation of China’s long-term care insurance system and her studies of elderly housing communities’ resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic. Her land-use policy research further extends to the governance mechanisms, from new town planning to rail transit expansion, that shape urban development and reconfigure neighborhoods. Her work has appeared in leading journals such as Land Use Policy, Cities, Habitat International, Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, and Building and Environment. As a Fellow of the Institute of Policy Studies at Lingnan University, Prof Huang brings this research directly into the teaching and training of the next generation of policy professionals.

Prof HUANG Yaoxuan Virginia's Profile