Healthy cities & healthcare resources
Examining hospital size distribution, physician and bed allocation, healthcare accessibility, and cross-city patient mobility to assess spatial equity and efficiency.
HEALTHY CITIES · SPATIAL JUSTICE
Building cities that
respond to health and equity.
I study how healthcare resources are distributed and mobilised across cities and regions, and how these spatial patterns shape opportunities for health. My work connects healthy city planning, territorial spatial use, and the governance of urban–rural transition in Western China.
Healthy city planningHealth geographyHealthcare allocationTerritorial spatial use
01 / RESEARCH
Research themes
Understanding inequality in health services and urban–rural development through spatial patterns, institutional mechanisms, and individual behaviour.
Cross-border healthcare & mobility
Investigating healthcare use, perceived quality, and migration intentions in the Greater Bay Area, together with the policy and infrastructure conditions of cross-border care.
Urban–rural transition & spatial governance
Exploring community services, informal urbanisation, territorial spatial use, and governance challenges in Western China’s urban–rural transformation.
Methods
Spatial econometricsPolicy analysisSurvey modellingBig-data analysisQualitative research
02 / SELECTED WORKS
Selected publications
Demystifying hospital size distribution: A geographical approach
Yan Xiang, He Shenjing · Applied Geography, 163, 103185
Healthcare in cumulatively caused migration: Hong Kong residents’ perceived Mainland healthcare quality and migration intentions in the Greater Bay Area, China
Yan Xiang, He Shenjing · Habitat International, 136, 102828
Divergent distributions of physicians and healthcare beds in China: Changing patterns, driving forces, and policy implications
Yan Xiang, He Shenjing, Chris Webster, Yu Meng · Applied Geography, 138, 102626
Cross-city patient mobility and healthcare equity and efficiency: Evidence from Hefei, China
Yan Xiang, Shan Lu, He Shenjing, Zhang Jiekui · Travel Behaviour and Society, 28, 1–12
The co-evolution of therapeutic landscape and health tourism in Bama longevity villages, China
Yan Xiang, He Shenjing · Health & Place, 66, 102448
More selected works ＋
2023 Research progress of the “tragedy of the commons” and its implications for sustainable resource governance. Journal of Natural Resources, 38(6), 1651–1666.
2023 Changes in access to primary healthcare resources in Sichuan under township consolidation. Chinese Health Service Management, 40(12).
2021 Secondary Circuit of Capital and the Making of Suburban Property Boom in Post-Crisis Chinese Cities. Environment and Planning A, 53(6), 1331–1355.
2020 Planning responses to the tension between ecological protection and economic development in metropolitan Chengdu. City Planning Review, 44(12), 75–81.
03 / PROJECTS
Research projects
National Natural Science Foundation of China · PI
Spatial mechanisms and cross-scale optimisation for balanced urban–rural healthcare resource allocation under supply-side reform
Grant no. 42371211
Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities · PI
Spatial mechanisms for balanced urban healthcare resource allocation under supply-side reform: Chengdu as a case study
Peking University–Lincoln Institute Dissertation Fellowship · PI
Governing Physician Mobility Against China’s Uneven Development
Hong Kong Strategic Public Policy Research · Participant
Promoting cross-border healthcare use and mobility among Hong Kong residents in the Greater Bay Area
04 / EXPERIENCE
Education & experience
Sichuan University
Research Associate
The University of Hong Kong
Postdoctoral Fellow
The University of Hong Kong
PhD · Urban Planning and Design
China Urban Development Research Institute, Southwest Branch
Planning practice
Chengdu Institute of Planning and Design
Planning practice
Peking University
MSc · Geography (Urban and Regional Planning)
Nanjing University
BSc · Geographical Science
TEACHING
Courses
Undergrad Architectural Design V
Graduate Urban–Rural Planning and Design
05 / CONTACT
Let’s talk about healthy cities,
spatial equity, and urban–rural governance.
yanx@scu.edu.cn ↗
Innovation & Entrepreneurship Center, Sichuan University
Chengdu · China