Department of Geography and Resource Management (GRM), The Chinese University of Hong Kong

Prof. HE Ying, Sylvia

Faculty Member

Prof. HE Ying, Sylvia

Professor

Director, Urban Studies Programme

BS Geography (SYSU)
MA Geography (McMaster)
GCert Financial Analysis and Valuation (USC)
MA Economics (USC)
PhD Policy, Planning, and Development (USC)
Postdoc Department of Civil, Geo and Environmental Engineering (TUM)

World's Top 2% Scientists (by Stanford University)
FRSA, FHKSTS, CMILT, MRICS, MRTPI

(852) 3943-6646

sylviahe@cuhk.edu.hk Visit personal website >

RESEARCH PROJECTS

Principal Investigator

  • 2024 “Understanding electric taxi charging behavior using GPS trajectory data”, Direct Grant, CUHK Research Committee, The Chinese University of Hong Kong. 
  • 2023 “Using social media data to monitor satisfaction with transit services and evaluate the effectiveness of the service quality improvement programmes of metro systems”, General Research Fund (GRF), Hong Kong Research Grants Council.
  • 2022 “Evaluating Urban Transport Equity Using Big and Small Data”, Strategic Partnership Award for Research Collaboration (SPARC), The Chinese University of Hong Kong.
  • 2021 “Future Transport in Hong Kong”, Ove Arup & Partners Hong Kong Ltd.
  • 2020 “A Study of the Public’s Attitude towards Violence and Vandalism in Transport Systems and Contingency Planning for Travel Mobility Demand in Hong Kong”, Public Policy Research (PPR) Funding Scheme, Policy Innovation and Co-ordination Office, The Government of the Hong Kong SAR.

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

(* corresponding author)

Pan Y. and He S.Y.* (2024). Using mobile phone data to capture residential segregation and its association with travel mobility, Population, Space and Place, e2808 (https://doi.org/10.1002/psp.2808) (Open Access) [Link]

Gao F., He S. Y.*, Han C. and Liang J. (2024). The impact of shared mobility on metro ridership: The non-linear effects of ride-hailing and bike-sharing services, Travel Behaviour and Society, 37, 100842. (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tbs.2024.100842) [Link]

He S.Y.*, Tao S., Wang Z. and Luo S. (2024). Data for travel behaviour research: Recent advances, challenges and opportunities in the era of smart cities. In Potoglou, D. and Spinney, J. (eds.) Handbook of Travel Behaviour (pp. 197-218), Edward Elgar Publishing, Cheltenham, UK. (https://doi.org/10.4337/9781839105746.00018) (Open Access) [Link]

He S.Y., Tao S. and Sun K.K. (2024). Attitudes towards public transport under extended disruptions and massive-scale transit dysfunction: A Hong Kong case study, Transport Policy, 149, 247-258 (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tranpol.2024.02.008) [Link]

He X. and He S.Y.* (2024). Using mobile phone big data and street view images to explore the mismatch between walkability and walking behavior, Transportation Research Part A, 180, 103946 (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tra.2023.103946). [Link]

He S.Y.*, Chen X. and Tao S. (2023). Long commutes, work-life balance, and well-being: A mixed-methods study of Hong Kong’s new-town residents. Journal of Planning Education and Research (https://doi.org/10.1177/0739456X23118830). [Link]

Renaud-Blondeau P., Boisjoly G., Dagdougui H. and He S.Y. (2023). Powering the transition: Public charging stations and electric vehicle adoption in Montreal, Canada. International Journal of Sustainable Transportation, 17, 1097-1112 (https://doi.org/10.1080/15568318.2022.2152403). [Link]

Zhan Z., Guo Y., Noland R.B., He S.Y. and Wang Y. (2023). Analysis of links between dockless bikeshare and metro trips in Beijing, Transportation Research Part A, 175, 103784. (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tra.2023.103784). [Link]

Gao J., He S.Y., Ettema D. and Helbich M. (2023). Travel behavior changes due to life events: Longitudinal evidence from Dutch couple households, Transportation Research Part A, 175, 103765. (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tra.2023.103765) [Link]

Barquilla C.A.M., Lee J., He S.Y. (2023). The impact of greenspace proximity on stress levels and travel behavior among residents in Pasig City, Philippines during the COVID-19 pandemic, Sustainable Cities and Society, 97, 104782. (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2023.104782) [Link]

He S.Y.*, Sun K.K., Luo S., Lee J. and Parady G. (2023). The impacts of COVID-19 and social distancing on transport mode usage and travel satisfaction: Evidence from a transit-oriented city. Travel Behaviour and Society, 33, 100617. (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tbs.2023.100617) [Link]

Tao S., He S.Y.*, Chen X., Lee J. and Liu M. (2023). Walking accessibility to non-work facilities and travel patterns in suburban new towns. Cities, 137, 104324. (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2023.104324). [Link]

Tao S., Cheng L., He S.Y., Witlox F. (2023). Examining the non-linear effects of transit accessibility on daily trip duration: A focus on the low-income population. Journal of Transport Geography, 109, 103600. (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2023.103600). [Link]

He X. and He S.Y.* (2023). Using open data and deep learning to explore walkability in Shenzhen, China. Transportation Research Part D, 118, 103696. (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trd.2023.103696). [Link]

Pan Y. and He S.Y.* (2023). An investigation into the impact of the built environment on the travel mobility gap using mobile phone data. Journal of Transport Geography, 108, 103571. (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2023.103571). [Link]

Luo S., He S.Y.*, Grant-Muller S. and Song L. (2023). Influential factors in customer satisfaction of transit services: Using crowdsourced data to capture the heterogeneity across individuals, space and time, Transport Policy, 131, 173-183. (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tranpol.2022.12.011). [Link]

He S.Y.*, Luo S. and Sun K.K. (2022). Factors affecting electric vehicle adoption intention: The impact of objective, perceived, and prospective charger accessibility. Journal of Transport and Land Use, 15, 779-801 (http://dx.doi.org/10.5198/jtlu.2022.2113) (Open Access) [Link]

Sun K.K., He S.Y.*, and Thøgersen J. (2022). The purchase intention of electric vehicles in Hong Kong, a high-density Asian context, and main differences from a Nordic context. Transport Policy, 128, 98-112 (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tranpol.2022.09.009). [Link]

He S.Y.*, Chen X., Es M., Guo Y., Sun K.K. and Lin Z. (2022). Liveability and migration intention in Chinese resource-based economies: Findings from seven cities with potential for population shrinkage. Cities, 131, 103961 (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2022.103961). [Link]

Tao S., He S.Y.*, Ettema D. and Luo S. (2022). The role of transit accessibility in influencing the activity space and non-work activity participation of different income groups. Journal of Transport and Land Use, 15 (1), 375-398. (http://dx.doi.org/10.5198/jtlu.2022.2075) (Open Access) [Link

He S.Y.*, Kuo Y.H., and Sun K.K. (2022). The spatial planning of public electric vehicle charging infrastructure in a high-density city using a contextualised location-allocation model. Transportation Research Part A, 160, 21-44. (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tra.2022.02.012) (Open Access) [Link

Pan Y. and He S.Y.* (2022). Analyzing COVID-19’s impact on the travel mobility of various social groups in China’s Greater Bay Area via mobile phone big data. Transportation Research Part A, 159, 263-281 (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tra.2022.03.015). [Link]

He S.Y.*, Chakrabarti S., and Cheung Y.H.Y. (2022). A time-use perspective of out-of-home activity participation by older people in Hong Kong, Asian Geographer, 39, 45-67 (https://doi.org/10.1080/10225706.2020.1808488). [Link]

Wang Z. and He S.Y.* (2021). Impacts of food accessibility and built environment on on-demand food delivery usage. Transportation Research Part D, 100, 103017 (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trd.2021.103017). [Link]

Kim U., Lee J., and He S.Y. (2021). Pedestrianization Impacts on Air Quality Perceptions and Environment Satisfaction: The Case of Regenerated Streets in Downtown Seoul, International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18, 10225 (https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph181910225). (Open Access) [Link]

Luo S. and He S.Y.* (2021). Understanding gender difference in perceptions toward transit services across space and time: A social media mining approach. Transport Policy, 111, 63-73. (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tranpol.2021.07.018). [Link]

Guo Y. and He S.Y.* (2021). The role of objective and perceived built environments in affecting dockless bike-sharing as a feeder mode choice of metro commuting. Transportation Research Part A, 149, 377-396. (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tra.2021.04.008). [Link]

He S.Y.*, Tao S., Cheung Y.H.Y., Puczkowskyj N., and Lin Z. (2021). Transit-oriented development, perceived neighbourhood gentrification and sense of community: A case study of Hong Kong, Case Studies on Transport Policy, 9, 555-566. (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cstp.2021.02.010). [Link]

Guo Y. and He S.Y.* (2021). Perceived built environment and dockless bikeshare as a feeder mode of metro, Transportation Research Part D, 92, 102693. (https://doi.org/10.​1016/​j.​trd.​2020.​102693). [Link]

Luo S. and He S.Y.* (2021). Using data mining to explore the spatial and temporal dynamics of perceptions of metro services in China: The case of Shenzhen, Environment and Planning B: Urban Analytics and City Science, 48, 449-466. (https://doi.org/10.1177/2399808320974693). [Link]

Tao S. and He S.Y.* (2021). Job accessibility and joint household travel: A study of Hong Kong with a particular focus on new town residents, Transportation, 48, 1379-1407. (https://doi.org/10.1007/s11116-020-10100-4). [Link]

He S.Y.*, Thøgersen J., Cheung Y.H.Y., and Yu A.H.Y. (2020). Ageing in a transit-oriented city: Satisfaction with transport, social inclusion and wellbeing, Transport Policy, 97, 85-94. (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tranpol.2020.06.016). [Link]

Tao S., He S.Y.*, and Luo S. (2020). The influence of job accessibility on local residential segregation of ethnic minorities: a study of Hong Kong, Population, Space and Place, 26(8), e2353. (https://doi:10.1002/psp.2353). [Link]

Guo Y. and He S.Y.* (2020). Built environment effects on the integration of dockless bike sharing and the Metro, Transportation Research Part D, 83, 102335. (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trd.2020.102335) (Web of Science Highly Cited paper, top 1%). [Link]

He S.Y.*(2020). Regional impact of rail network accessibility on residential property price: Modelling spatial heterogeneous capitalisation effects in Hong Kong, Transportation Research Part A, 135, 244-263 (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tra.2020.01.025). (IACP Economic Approach in Urban Sustainability Studies Award) [Link]

He S.Y.*, Tao S., Ng M.K., and Tieben H. (2020). Evaluating Hong Kong’s spatial planning in new towns from the perspectives of job accessibility, transport mobility patterns, and work–life balance, Journal of the American Planning Association, 86, 324-338. (https://doi.org/10.1080/01944363.2020.1725602). [Link]

He S.Y.*, Wu D., Chen H., Hou Y., and Ng M.K. (2020). New towns and the local agglomeration economy. Habitat International, 98, 102153. (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.habitatint.2020.102153). [Link]

Tao S., He S.Y.*, Kwan M.-P., and Luo S. (2020). Does low income translate into lower mobility? An investigation of activity space in Hong Kong between 2002 and 2011, Journal of Transport Geography, 82, 102583 (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2019.102583). [Link]

Tao S., He S.Y.*, and Thøgersen J. (2019). The role of car ownership in attitudes towards public transport: a comparative study of Guangzhou and Brisbane, Transportation Research Part F, 60, 685-699 (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trf.2018.12.005). [Link]

He S.Y.*, Cheung Y.H.Y., and Tao S. (2018), Travel mobility and social participation among older people in a transit metropolis: A socio-spatial-temporal perspective, Transportation Research Part A, 118, 608-626. (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tra.2018.09.006). [Link]

Baker M. and He S.Y. (2018). [Editorial] Understanding urban change in diverse contexts: experiences from Manchester and Hong Kong, Town Planning Review, 89, 463-465. (https://doi.org/10.3828/tpr.2018.30). [Link]

He S.Y.*, Tao S., Hou Y., and Jiang W. (2018). Mass Transit Railway, transit-oriented development, and spatial justice: the competition for prime residential locations in Hong Kong since the 1980s, Town Planning Review, 89, 467-493. (https://doi.org/10.3828/tpr.2018.31). [Link]

He S.Y.* and Giuliano G. (2018). School choice: Understanding the trade-off between travel distance and school quality, Transportation, 45, 1475-1498 (https://doi.org/10.1007/s11116-017-9773-3). [Link]

He S.Y.*, Miller E.J., and Scott D.M. (2018). [Editorial] Big data and travel behaviour, Travel Behaviour and Society, 11, 119-120 (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tbs.2017.12.003). [Link]

Wang Z., He S.Y.*, and Leung Y. (2018). Applying mobile phone data to travel behaviour research: A literature review, Travel Behaviour and Society, 11, 141-155 (http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tbs.2017.02.005) (Web of Science Highly Cited paper, top 1%). [Link]

Lee J., He S.Y., and Sohn D.W. (2017). Potential for converting short car trips to active trips: the role of the built environment in tour-based travel. Journal of Transport & Health, 7, 134-148 (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jth.2017.08.008). [Link]

He S.Y.* (2017). A hierarchical estimation of school quality capitalisation in house prices in Orange County, California, Urban Studies, 54, 3337-3359 (https://doi.org/10.1177/0042098016669473). [Link]

He S.Y.* and Thøgersen J. (2017). The impact of attitudes and perceptions on travel mode choice and car ownership in a Chinese megacity: The case of Guangzhou. Research in Transportation Economics, 62, 57-67 (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.retrec.2017.03.004). [Link]

He S.Y.*, Lee J., Zhou T., and Wu D. (2017). Shrinking cities and resource-based economy: The economic restructuring in China’s mining cities, Cities, 60, 75-83 (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2016.07.009). [Link]

He S.Y.* and Giuliano G. (2017). Factors affecting children’s journeys to school: A joint escort-mode choice model, Transportation, 44, 199-224 (https://doi.org/10.1007/s11116-015-9634-x). [Link]

He S.Y.*, Kuo Y.H., and Wu D. (2016). Incorporating institutional and spatial factors in the selection of the optimal locations of public electric vehicle charging facilities: A case study of Beijing, China, Transportation Research Part C, 67, 131-148 (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trc.2016.02.003). [Link]

Hu L. and He S.Y. (2016). The association between telecommuting and household travel in the Chicago metropolitan area, Journal of Urban Planning and Development, 142(3), 04016005(1-8) (https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)UP.1943-5444.0000326). [Link]

He S.Y.* and Hu L. (2015), Telecommuting, income, and out-of-home activities, Travel Behaviour and Society, 2, 131-147 (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tbs.2014.12.003). [Link]

He S.Y.* (2014). Conference report: Asian Urbanism and Beyond, the 18th Inter-University Seminar on Asian Megacities, Town Planning Review, 85, 533-539 (https://www.jstor.org/stable/24579248). [Link]

He S.Y.* (2014). When growth grinds to a halt: Population and economic development of resource-depleted cities in China. In Harry W. Richardson and Chang Woon Nam (eds.), Shrinking Cities: A Global Perspective (pp. 152-168). New York: Routledge.

He S.Y.* (2013). Will you escort your child to school? The effect of spatial and temporal constraints of parental employment, Applied Geography, 42, 116-123 (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeog.2013.05.003). [Link]

He S.Y.* (2013). Does flexitime affect departure time choice for morning home-based commuting trips? Evidence from two regions in California, Transport Policy, 25, 210-221 (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tranpol.2012.11.003). [Link]

He S.Y.* (2013). Los Angeles: A Transit Metropolis in the Making? In Institute for Mobility Research (ed.), Megacity Mobility Culture: How Cities Move on in a Diverse World (pp. 161-183). Berlin: Springer.

Scott D.M. and He S. (2012), Modeling constrained destination choice for shopping: a GIS-based, time-geographic approach, Journal of Transport Geography, 23, 60-71 (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2012.03.021). [Link]

Giuliano G., Redfearn C., Agarwal A., and He S.Y. (2012), Network accessibility and employment centres, Urban Studies, 49, 77-95 (https://doi.org/10.1177/0042098011411948). [Link]

He S.* (2011), The effect of school quality and residential environment on mode choice of school trips, Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, 2213, 96-104 (https://doi.org/10.3141/2213-13). [Link]

Teaching Fields

  • Urban Economics
  • Sustainable Urban Transport
  • Smart Cities
  • GIS

Research interests

  • Transportation Planning and Policy
  • Travel Behavior
  • Transit-Oriented Development
  • Emerging Mobilities (e.g., Electric Vehicles)
  • Urban and Regional Studies
  • New Towns
  • Shrinking Cities
  • Urban Analytics

Services/ Posts

  • Editorial Board Member: Journal of the American Planning Association 
  • Editorial Board Member: Town Planning Review
  • Editorial Board Member: Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment 
  • Editorial Board Member: Journal of Transport and Geography
  • Editorial Board Member: Transport Reviews
  • Associate Editor: Travel Behaviour and Society 
  • Associate Editor: Asian Transport Studies 
  • Board Member, International Association for China Planning (IACP), Oct 2021 – Sept 2025
  • Secretary and Board Member, World Society for Transport and Land Use Research (WSTLUR), Aug 2021 – July 2027
  • Honorary Secretary and Board Member, Hong Kong Society for Transportation Studies (HKSTS)
  • Assessment Panel Member, Competitive Research Funding Schemes for the Local Self-financing Degree Sector (APSF) (Humanities and Social Sciences (H) Subject), 2020/2021 & 2021/2022. Research Grants Council (RGC), Hong Kong SAR
  • Chartered Member, Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI)
  • Chartered Member, Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS)
  • Chartered Member, The Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT)
  • Research Fellow, Institute of Future Cities, CUHK
  • Coordinator, Smart Sustainable Cities (Area of Concentration), CUHK Department of Geography and Resource Management
  • Coordinator, Urban Policy and Governance (Area of Concentration), CUHK Urban Studies Programme
  • Member, Faculty Committee on Teaching and Learning, CUHK Faculty of Social Science
  • Member, Curriculum and Teaching Committee, CUHK Department of Geography and Resource Management
  • Member, Panel on Academic Matters (DAPC), CUHK Institute of Space and Earth Information Science

Awards

2024    Fellow, Hong Kong Society for Transportation Studies (HKSTS)

2022   IACP Economic Approach in Urban Sustainability Studies Award, International Association for China Planning

2021    Fellow, Regional Studies Association (RSA)

2020 (- present)  World’s Top 2% Scientists (by Stanford University)

2013    John Dyckman Award for Best Dissertation in Planning, USC Sol Price School of Public Policy

2011     BMW Group Institute for Mobility Research (ifmo) Mobility Cultures in Megacities Fellowship, Munich

2011     Dissertation Completion Fellowship, University of Southern California

2010    Dwight David Eisenhower Transportation Fellowship, Federal Highway Administration, US Department of Transportation

2009    Myra L. Frank Memorial Graduate Scholarship (First Place), Women’s Transportation Seminar (WTS) – Los Angeles County Chapter

2008     Second Place (team) in the First International Apartment Rental Forecasting Competition, Japanese Association of Real Estate Financial Engineering 

2007     Christine Mirzayan Science and Technology Policy Graduate Fellowship, US National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine

2006     Graduate Scholarship, Women’s Transportation Seminar (WTS) – Orange County Chapter

SUGGESTED RESEARCH TOPICS FOR POSTGRADUATE STUDENTS

Transport planning and policy

Transportation and land use

Big data for urban planning

Travel behaviour