Rate My Professor Li Wan

Professor Li Wan is Professor of Planning in the Department of Land Economy at the University of Cambridge, promoted to this position in 2025, and Fellow in Land Economy at Gonville & Caius College, where he serves as Director of Studies in Land Economy. He earned a BArch from Huazhong University of Science and Technology in China, an MPhil from the University of Cambridge, and a PhD in Architecture from the University of Cambridge. Prior to his lectureship starting in 2019, he held research associate positions from 2016 to 2019 in the Department of Engineering and Department of Land Economy. Wan leads the Urban Modelling research group, focusing on applied urban modelling and data analytics to understand urban land and transport development processes and policy mechanisms.

His research specializations include spatial economic modelling of urban land use and transport systems, strategic planning at the city and regional levels, evaluating the spatial economic impacts of transport decarbonisation and adaptation, and land value capture through development taxes and planning obligations. Key publications encompass the book Digital Twins for Smart Cities: Conceptualisation, Challenges and Practices (ICE Publishing, 2023), the policy report Development Taxes and Levies: Lessons from the Past, Ideas for the Future (University of Cambridge & Town and Country Planning Association, 2025), and peer-reviewed articles such as 'A socio-technical perspective on urban analytics: the case of city-scale digital twins' (Journal of Urban Technology, 2021, cited over 300 times), 'Automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) in smart cities: A systematic review on technological advancements and application cases' (Cities, 2022), and 'Inferring trip purposes and mode substitution effect of rental e-scooters in London' (Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, 2024). Wan is a co-investigator of the Centre for Smart Infrastructure and Construction and the UK National Hub for Decarbonised, Adaptable, and Resilient Transport Infrastructures, and a Trustee of the IJURR Foundation. He accepts applications for PhD and MPhil in Land Economy Research and is available for consultancy.