Curriculum Vitae (working version)

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WEIJIAN CHEN

RESEARCH INTERESTS

  • Data-driven Urban Analytics for Planning and Decision Support
  • Simulation and Agent-based Models for Complex Urban Systems
  • Interpretability and Use of Analytical Models in Planning Practice
  • Applications of Machine Learning and Generative AI in Planning Research

EDUCATION

  • Leibniz University Hannover
    • M.Sc. in European Master in Territorial Development
    • Oct. 2018 - Oct. 2020 Hannover, Germany
    • Specialization: Spatial Planning and Territorial Development
    • Thesis: Chinese Outbound Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Land and Real Estate in European countries: The Barriers, the Risks, and the Opportunities
    • GPA:2.3(reverse-scale, good)
  • Norwegian University of Life Sciences
    • Erasmus Exchange Student (EU-funded academic mobility program) at the Faculty of Society and Landscape
    • July 2019 - Dec. 2019 Ås, Norway
    • Concentration: Planning theory, political economy, and development studies
  • Guangzhou University
    • B. E. in Urban Planning
    • Sept. 2012 - June 2017 Guangzhou, China
    • GPA:84/100

PUBLICATION

  • Chen, Weijian. (2023). Spatial Characteristics of Central Activity Zones in Maritime Cities: Research and Design Practice. In Proceedings of the 2023 China Urban Planning Annual Conference (Urban Design Track) (pp. 595–606). Peer-reviewed conference paper. DOI: 10.26914/c.cnkihy.2023.056403.
    • This paper explores how spatial analytical methods can inform urban design and planning decisions in coastal cities.

RESEARCH EXPERIENCE

  • Data-driven Evaluation of Coastal Sports Resources Using Multi-source Data (Ongoing) Company-funded research project

    • Objective: To investigate the reasoning processes underlying expert evaluations of coastal sports tourism resources, and explore how far these judgments can be translated into data-driven evaluation models.
    • Methods: Built an indicator framework grounded in existing literature and multi-source spatial and environmental data, and selected 15 sites as evaluation samples. Collected expert scores from 10 specialists and applied machine learning (e.g., Random Forest) to learn expert weighting logic, with expert assessments used for both model training and validation.
    • Preliminary Findings: Initial results suggest that natural environmental factors—particularly sea conditions and wind-related attributes—play a dominant role in shaping expert evaluations, while also highlighting the challenges of translating experts’ knowledge into indicator-based models.

  • A Spatiotemporal Analysis of Tourist Flow Synchronization and Conversion in Core–Peripheral Tourism Systems Practice-based research drawing on a county-level tourism planning project in Yizheng, China

    • Objective: To explore whether a core tourist city can effectively drive tourism development in surrounding counties, and to what extent spatial proximity translates into actual tourist flow spillovers.
    • Methods: Analyzed spatiotemporal tourist flow patterns using multi-period heatmap and location-based service (LBS) data to examine temporal synchronization and spatial linkage between the core city and peripheral counties. Developed qualitative indicators to assess tourist flow conversion and spillover efficiency across administrative boundaries.
    • Findings / Insights: The analysis suggests that spatial proximity alone does not guarantee effective tourism spillovers. While temporal synchronization of tourist flows was observed, conversion into sustained visitation in surrounding counties appeared uneven, revealing structural limitations of proximity-based assumptions commonly adopted in regional tourism planning.

COURSE-BASED RESEARCH PROJECTS（SELECTED）

  • Waterborne Public Transport and Urban Mobility System Collaborative coursework-based research project (Master’s level)

    • Spatial and policy analysis of waterborne public transport, highlighting its conditional role as a complementary mode within integrated urban mobility systems.

  • Comparative Analysis of Urban Sprawl and Spatial Planning Strategies in European Cities Collaborative coursework-based research project (Master’s level)

    • Comparative analysis of European cities examining how governance coherence and transport–land use integration shape sprawl patterns.

  • Interpreting Sustainable Development in Chinese Planning Practices Coursework-based research project (Master’s level)

    • Qualitative discourse analysis of Chinese planning documents, examining how sustainability narratives are shaped by institutional power and governance structures.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

  • Guangdong Urban & Rural Planning and Design Institute
    • Project Lead/ Assistant Director June 2022 - Present Guangzhou, China
    • Led analytical and evaluation tasks within large-scale regional and sectoral urban planning projects, supporting decision-making under complex institutional and policy constraints.
    • Designed and implemented spatial and behavioral analyses to support planning diagnosis, scenario evaluation, and site selection. Employed analytical methods (e.g., space syntax) and leveraged multi-source data (POI, mobile phone signaling, and social media behavioral data).
    • Contributed to internal technical reviews of planning projects, providing professional assessment of planning content, supporting analyses, and implementation feasibility.
    • Initiated and coordinated a small internal working group exploring the application of AI-assisted analysis and data-driven methods in planning practice.
  • AECOM
    • Project Urban Designer Aug. 2020 - June 2022 Guangzhou, China
    • Supported master planning and urban design projects through analytical studies informing design strategies and development scenarios.
    • Applied multiple quantitative analytical methods to evaluate and refine urban design schemes, including space syntax analysis to assess pedestrian and cycling networks and support walkability-oriented design optimization.
    • Designed and implemented questionnaire surveys to examine industrial park workers’ daily activity patterns, spatial needs, and job–housing relationships, informing functional layout and public space design.
  • AECOM
    • Assistant Urban Designer June 2017 - Aug. 2018 Guangzhou, China
    • Supported planning research and analytical tasks in early-stage urban studies and concept development.
    • Assisted in data preparation, mapping, and preliminary spatial analysis for large-scale planning projects.
  • AECOM
    • Master Planning Intern June 2016 - Dec. 2016 Guangzhou, China
    • Assisted in data collection, spatial mapping, and background research for urban planning projects.
  • These experiences motivated my interest in developing more rigorous, interpretable, and evidence-based analytical tools for planning research.

SKILLS AND LANGUAGES

  • Methods: Spatial analysis, machine learning, indicator-based evaluation
  • Programming & Data: Python (primarily through AI-assisted coding for data analysis, modeling, and workflow prototyping), SQL, GIS-based data processing
  • Tools: ArcGIS, QGIS, Cursor
  • Languages: Mandarin and Cantonese Chinese (native), English (fluent), German (basic)
  • Additional Skills: Familiarity with technical drawing and visual communication for planning and research outputs.

ADDITIONAL ACADEMIC TRAINING & EXPLORATORY PROJECTS

  • Professional Certificate in Computer Science for Artificial Intelligence, HarvardX (edX), 2025.
    • Completed structured coursework covering core computer science foundations (algorithms, data structures, computational thinking) and AI methods, including search, optimization, probabilistic inference, and machine learning, with hands-on Python-based implementations.
  • Explored natural language–driven spatial analysis workflows using Python (GeoPandas) and OpenStreetMap data, focusing on AI-assisted GIS analysis for planning tasks.

AWARDS

  • Jinyue Natural Resources Science and Technology Award (Bronze Prize), Planning and Design Category, 2025. Awarded by the Department of Natural Resources of Guangdong Province and related provincial authorities.
  • First Prize, Guangdong Provincial Outstanding Urban Planning and Design Project Award, 2023. Awarded by the Guangdong Association of Territorial Spatial Planning.
  • First Prize, 2nd Guangdong Yuemei Rural Landscape Design Competition, 2025. Awarded by the Department of Natural Resources of Guangdong Province.

CERTIFICATES

  • Certified Urban and Rural Planning Engineer (Intermediate Level), 2025. Issued by the Department of Natural Resources of Guangdong Province.
  • Project Management Professional (PMP), 2024. Issued by the Project Management Institute (PMI).