Dr Kevin Wang

Kevin Wang is a Lecturer in the Politics of China, with expertise in Urban Studies, Geography, Migration Studies, Politics, Policy and Anthropology.

Kevin studied Migration Studies (DPhil) at the Centre on Migration, Policy and Society (COMPAS) at the University of Oxford, where his doctoral thesis examined the development of future cities in China. Specifically, he investigated the city-making process behind the new city of Xiong’an, which imagines a new form of planning, economy, and living within China’s northern city cluster of JingJinJi (Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei). The theoretical conception and imagination of this place are ever evolving and, for better or worse, conceptual ideas from Xiong’an could potentially re-orientate Chinese urban futures onto a new trajectory. This becomes particularly interesting as China seeks new modes of development, urbanisation and social life under President Xi’s purportedly new urbanisation strategy – namely “Chinese-style new urbanism.” Situated just south of Beijing, Xiong’an has been designated the third national-level development zone (after Shenzhen and Shanghai/Pudong). In this light, his personal aim has been to understand new Chinese cities from a perspective that moves beyond mainstream planning and urban narratives.

Kevin has held various teaching posts (including positions at Jesus College and the University of Oxford), focusing on human geography and the geography of China. He holds an MSc in Contemporary Chinese Studies from the University of Oxford (Distinction) and a BA Hons in Geography from King’s College London (First Class). He has previously studied and worked at multiple institutions in China, including Fudan University (Shanghai), Beijing Forestry University, Tsinghua University, and Beijing Normal University. He has also worked in the UK Government as a Policy Associate (under the OIT).

His research interests are wide-ranging and include urban anthropology, new urban narratives, infrastructures and their interpretations, economic transformation, and urban–rural development. He is particularly interested in the development and adoption of new technologies and AI solutions, and in the complex relationships that span China – both at regional levels in relation to centralisation and urban agglomeration, and internationally in various forms of influence.

Wang, K. (2022), Changing nature of the work units and urban governance in China: The enduring influence of public institutions, Transactions in Planning and Urban Research, Vol. 1 No. 1–2, pp. 167–183 

Deng, Y., Qi, W., Fu, B. and Wang, K. (2019), Geographical transformations of urban sprawl: Exploring the spatial heterogeneity across cities in China 1992–2015

• Cities
• Urban-Rural Relations
• Urban Futures
• New Technologies
• AI
• Human Geography