Julie Miao

Julie Miao is Associate Professor in Property in the Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning at the University of Melbourne, affiliated with the Melbourne School of Design, where she serves as Associate Dean (Academic Resources). She earned her PhD in Economic Geography and Planning from the Bartlett School of Planning at University College London in 2012, supported by the Overseas Research Student Award and KC-Wong Research Scholarship. Prior degrees include an MSc in Real Estate (first class honours) from Renmin University of China in 2008, recognized with the Outstanding Master Thesis award, and a BSc in Land Resource Management and Planning (first class honours) from Huazhong Agricultural University in 2006, honoured with Outstanding Bachelor Thesis awards from Hubei Province and the university. Her career trajectory encompasses Lecturer in Urban Planning and Development at the Adam Smith Business School, University of Glasgow (2014-2018), Research Fellow at the Scottish Cities Knowledge Centre, University of St Andrews (2013-2014), and part-time Teaching Fellow at the Bartlett School of Planning, University College London (2009-2012). Earlier professional roles in China involved serving as Associate Co-Director of the Construction Research Centre under the Beijing Municipal Commission of Housing and Urban-Rural Development in 2008 and part-time Associate Market Analyst at the Land Information Centre, Ministry of Land and Resources, People's Republic of China (2006-2008).

Professor Miao's research focuses on urban entrepreneurialism, housing and capital dynamics, knowledge economies, innovation districts, science parks, technopoles, transnational policy transfer, and rural transformations through e-commerce, with significant attention to China, Singapore, and global contexts. She secured the Australian Research Council Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DECRA) in 2021 for her project examining innovation infrastructure planning to future-proof Australia's growth. Her scholarship has amassed over 1,500 citations, evidenced by Google Scholar metrics. Key publications include the co-edited volume Making 21st Century Knowledge Complexes: Technopoles of the World 20 Years After (Routledge, 2015); "Varieties of urban entrepreneurialism" (Dialogues in Human Geography, 2020, with N.A. Phelps); "The second cold war: US-China competition for centrality in infrastructure, digital, production, and finance networks" (Geopolitics, 2024, with S. Schindler et al.); "E-commerce and the transformation of the rural: The Taobao village phenomenon in Zhejiang Province, China" (Journal of Rural Studies, 2021, with C.C. Wang et al.); "Housing and Capital in the 21st Century" (Housing, Theory and Society, 2017, with D. Maclennan); "The intrapreneurial state: Singapore’s emergence in the smart and sustainable urban solutions field" (Territory, Politics, Governance, 2019, with N.A. Phelps); and "Optical illusion? The growth and development of the Optics Valley of China" (Environment and Planning C: Government and Policy, 2014, with P. Hall). Forthcoming works feature the Research Handbook on Housing Policy (Edward Elgar, with D. Maclennan).

Professional Email: julie.miao@unimelb.edu.au