People

Dr. Luan Chen is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Centre for Civil Society and Governance, Faculty of Social Sciences. She has conducted extensive action research in rural China, with a particular focus on rural revitalization. Her doctoral dissertation draws on a 1.5-year co-creation rural planning initiative to examine how participation is practiced through everyday interaction rather than one-off consultation. Her research interests also include rural-urban migration, university-community partnerships, and digital participation in rural contexts.

• Long, Y., Chen, L.* & Li, X. (2025). Enhancing Villager Participation in Remote Rural China through the Co-Creation of “Small Gardens”: A Case Study of Hongtang Village. Planning Theory & Practice, 26(1), 1–21.
• Chen, L., Li, M., & Huang, Y. (2025). From industry to education-driven urbanization: A welfare transformation of urbanization in Chinese counties. Habitat International, 155, 103248.
• Chen, L., Huang, Y., Wu, X., & Li, X. (2024). Bridging State and Society: College Students’ Collaborative Participation in Rural Construction in China. Planning Theory & Practice, 25(1), 29-46.
• Chen, L., Huang, Y., Qin, X., Xu, W., Qin, Y., & Li, X. (2023). Return migration and in-situ urbanization of 79 migrant sending counties in China: Characteristic and driving factors.Journal of Rural Studies, 104, 103155.
• Wu, X., Chen, L., Ma, L., Cai, L., & Li, X. (2023). Return migration, rural household investment decision, and poverty alleviation: Evidence from rural Guangdong, China.Growth and Change, 54(1), 304-325.