I work at the intersection of political science, public policy, and urban studies. My main research agenda centers on political control and urban governance, with a regional focus on China. In particular, I study how urban space impacts the power dynamics between the state and society, and how the state’s pursuit of political control and stability, in turn, reshapes the built environment. This dynamic has implications for issues related to migration, inequality, and authoritarian resilience.

My broader interests include state-society relations under authoritarian regimes, particularly in areas such as (a) censorship and propaganda, (b) local-central government dynamics, and (c) prospects for civic engagement in policymaking under conditions of state control.

I adopt mixed methods in my research, including remote sensing data analysis, text data analysis, design-based inference, and interviews.

My works have appeared in the China Quarterly, the Journal of Contemporary China, and in edited volumes by the University of Pennsylvania Press. A manuscript from my book project has been conditionally accepted by the American Journal of Political Science.

I received my Ph.D. in Government from Cornell University. Before that, I obtained my M.A. in Regional Studies-East Asia from Harvard University, and my LL.B. in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from Peking University. I have also worked and interned at Thomson Reuters’ Beijing Bureau, the United Nations Department of Social and Economic Affairs, and the Carnegie-Tsinghua Center for Global Policy.