Dr Joseph Hongsheng Zhao

Lecturer (Assistant Prof) in Sustainable Urban Planning, University of the West of Scotland

I am an urban planner and social scientist researching sustainable urban transitions, migration, and planning for post-industrial cities. As an experienced lecturer and grant-winning researcher with an emerging international profile, I am currently working as a Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in Sustainable Urban Planning at the University of the West of Scotland (UWS) at Paisley, Greater Glasgow, Scotland.

Originally from Qingdao, an industrial city in eastern China, and having lived in global urban centres such as Hong Kong, Montreal, and Singapore, I have experienced first-hand the processes of urban transition — ranging from mass migration and environmental transformation to the social consequences of deindustrialisation. These experiences have profoundly shaped my academic approach, leading me to adopt a comparative and fieldwork-based perspective to understand the interplay between place, people, and the evolving urban dynamics.

I hold an MPhil and PhD from Cambridge, and have served two post-docs in Glasgow and for an EU Horizon project. My academic journey so far includes working and travelling across 30 countries.

Research interests: post-industrial cities, migration, sustainable urban transitions, GIS, and housing financialization.