Dr Hongmei Lu
- hlu at bournemouth dot ac dot uk
- Lecturer in Sustainability
Biography
I am an interdisciplinary scholar in sustainability at the School of Life and Environmental Science, Bournemouth University.
I research from three perspectives.
Sustainability entails supportive environmental policies: I research environmental policy theories: how the dual identity of policy entrepreneur and policy implementer influences green roof policy change, how policy design influences green roof’s sustainable provision, and how policy goal ambiguity influences the overall policy goal achievement, illustrated by the Chinese Sponge City program implementation.
Sustainability needs stakeholders’ collaborative governance: I research intergovernmental collaboration with case analyses of local food systems’ development in Michigan, factors influencing public-private partnerships (PPPs) in eco-environmental service provision in a non-democratic context, and government-citizen co-production through community-based initiatives.
New technologies can boost sustainability. I study how change agents use digital tools to engage the public for sustainability transformation... In another project, I collaborated with colleagues at Texas A&M University and used smartphone big data and consumer surplus concepts to quantify the economic benefits of urban parks and inform park planning.
Research interests
Sustainability; Environmental policy & governance; Digitalisation; Nature-based solutions.
Work experience
Before joining BU, I worked at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam on a Horizon Europe project, “Integrated assessment of urban farming impacts and policies for boosting sustainable urban agricultural development () and Utrecht University (the Netherlands), where I led Work Package 3: Social Media and Public Sphere in the ERC project Collaborative Planning in China in the Digital Era.
In Michigan, USA, I worked with colleagues at Michigan Technological University, the Western Upper Peninsula Planning and Development Region, and the Portage Health Foundation on local food systems, food security, and the informed implementation of local food assistance programs.
Alongside these projects, I also worked with local governments, communities, and NGOs, studying the role of digitalisaton in urban sustainability and climate resilience.
Education
PhD: Environmental Policy, Michigan Technological University, USA.
MSc: Landscape Architecture and Planning, Wageningen University, the Netherlands.
moreJournal Articles
- Zipeng, G., Song, Y., Lu, H., Zhu, R., Zhang, Y., Yoon, H., Zhang, B., 2026. Quantifying the recreational value of urban parks using smartphone mobility data. Computational Urban Science, 6 (1).
- Zhang, Y., Guo, Z., Song, Y., Lu, H., 2026. The impact of crime on urban park visitation patterns: A longitudinal analysis in Austin, Texas. Urban Forestry and Urban Greening, 117.
- Lu, H., Lin, Y., Hooimeijer, P., Liu, Y., 2026. Community garden coproduction under collectivism. Journal of Environmental Policy and Planning, 28 (4), 731-750.
- Huang, H., Frantzeskaki, N., Lu, H., Lin, Y., 2026. Leveraging nature-based solutions for place making in cities: insights from a scoping review and a proposal for transformative place making. Global Sustainability, 9.
- Yoon, H., Guo, Z., Song, Y., Lu, H., Zhang, Y., 2025. Highway as Barriers to Park Visitation: A Fixed Effects Analysis Using Mobility Data. Urban Science, 9 (12).
- Lu, H., Lin, Y., Liu, Z., Kleinhans, R., 2025. To participate online or onsite? Public preferences for participating in neighborhood regeneration planning in China. Planning Practice and Research.
- Qiu, Y., Lin, Y., He, J., Lu, H., 2024. Using Social Media Data to Understand Citizen Perceptions of Urban Planning in a City Simulation Game. Simulation and Gaming, 55 (5), 943-963.
- Lu, H., Song, Y., 2024. Informing inclusive park planning: Neighborhood park visitation modeling based on smartphone big data in Austin, Texas. Land Use Policy, 144.
- Lu, H., Carter, A., 2024. Social determinants of rural food security: Findings from Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Journal of Rural Studies, 107.
- Lu, H., Zhou, S., 2024. Using policy goal ambiguity to manage policy goal conflicts: Sponge-City Program implementation in old neighbourhoods. Journal of Asian Public Policy, 17 (3), 747-763.
- Song, Y., Yang, R., Lu, H., Fernandez, J., Wang, T., 2023. Why do we love the high line? A case study of understanding long-term user experiences of urban greenways. Computational Urban Science, 3 (1).
- Lu, H., 2023. Learning from failure: Breaking the waste incineration NIMBY cycle through participatory governance. Cleaner Waste Systems, 5.
- Lu, H., Carter, A., 2023. Emergent regional collaborative governance in rural local food systems development. Community Development, 54 (2), 228-256.
- Lu, H., Ryan, R.L., 2022. The influence of policy design on club good provisions: A study of for-profit shopping mall roof gardens in Shanghai. Land Use Policy, 121.
- Lu, H., Mayer, A.L., Zhou, S., Wellstead, A., 2021. Unveiling the quasi-public-private partnership (QPPP): evidence from China’s environmental service sector. Journal of Environmental Policy and Planning, 23 (3), 302-316.
- Lu, H., Mayer, A.L., Wellstead, A.M., Zhou, S., 2020. Can the dual identity of policy entrepreneur and policy implementer promote successful policy adoption? Vertical greening policymaking in Shanghai, China. Journal of Asian Public Policy, 13 (1), 113-128.
- Lu, H., Sidortsov, R., 2019. Sorting out a problem: A co-production approach to household waste management in Shanghai, China. Waste Management, 95, 271-277.
Books
- Lin, Y., Lu, H., 2026. Chinese Collaborative Planning in the Digital Era: Institutions, Power Relations, and Public Spheres.
Chapters
- Lu, D., Lu, H., 2026. Governance Models of Community Gardens in Urban China: Motivations, Opportunities, and Challenges. Chinese Collaborative Planning in the Digital Era Institutions Power Relations and Public Spheres. 150-170.
- Lu, H., Lin, Y., 2026. Social Media and Public Spheres in China. Chinese Collaborative Planning in the Digital Era Institutions Power Relations and Public Spheres. 28-47.
Grants
- Engaging the public through gamification: toward a clean urban environment (Transforming Cities, Utrecht University, 23 May 2025). Completed
- The role of social media in nature-based solutions to urban environmental resilience (Water, Climate, and Future Deltas, Utrecht University, 01 Aug 2024). Completed
Public Engagement & Outreach Activities
- Community engagement