Dr Yuting Zhang
Yuting Zhang is a research fellow in sustainable mobility at the Institute of Transport and Logistics Studies (ITLS) at the University of Sydney. She joined ITLS in May 2022 after completing her PhD in Urban and Regional Planning and Policy at the School of Architecture, Design and Planning at the University of Sydney.
Yuting’s expertise lies at the intersection of urban and transport planning, with a career spanning both academia and government. She began her professional journey in 2014 and holds a Master of Science in Urban Planning from Columbia University in the City of New York. Her experience extends across diverse international contexts, having worked in the United States and China on transport, land use, and environmental planning. Notably, during her time at the New York City Department of City Planning, she contributed to the Special Districts text amendment for Staten Island, playing a key role in shaping urban policy. Since relocating to Australia in 2017, Yuting has been actively engaged in housing and transport research and has previously worked at the Urban Housing Lab at the University of Sydney. Her research has informed a range of Australian housing initiatives, fostering collaboration between academia and industry to address pressing urban challenges.
Yuting is particularly interested in the transformative impact of the sharing economy on urban life, including mobility, employment, and housing. With a strong foundation in geospatial analysis (ArcGIS), Yuting takes a keen interest in understanding transport planning from a cross-jurisdictional perspective. She has extensive experience managing research projects and investigating platform-enabled sharing behaviours through qualitative and quantitative methodologies, including interviews, surveys, and big data analytics.
Yuting is currently engaged in a series of mobility projects focusing on active travel and shared micromobility, including:
- Australian Research Council (ARC) Linkage Project on sustainable mobility – In collaboration with Transport for New South Wales (TfNSW), this project examines how active travel can drive long-term behavioural change and improve public health outcomes.
- TfNSW Shared E-scooter Trial Evaluation Project – A commissioned project assessing the impact and effectiveness of shared e-scooter trials in NSW, Australia.
- iMOVE Project - Promoting Sustainable University Travel Choices (PSUTS).
- ARC Discovery Project - Autonomous Food and Alcohol Deliveries.
- Leading two funded projects: Micromobility Parking Facilities at Key Interchange Train Stations: A Study in Sydney, Australia; as well as Shared Micromobility and Social Inclusion in Australia and England.
Beyond research, Yuting is actively involved in education and knowledge dissemination. She regularly delivers lectures on active travel and micromobility as part of the Travel Demand Management (TDM) short course organised by ITLS. She also frequently participates in both government and industry transport events, where she presents her research to inform policy discussions and drive evidence-based decision-making.
Publications
Journals
- Zhang, Y., Shao, J., Nelson, J., Kent, J., Vardoulakis, S. (2024). Gender, Weather, and Time of Day: Active Travel Observations In Greater Sydney. Findings, December. [More Information]
- Zhang, Y., Kent, J., Harris, P., Nelson, J., Tong, M., Vardoulakis, S. (2024). International experiences on active travel planning: Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives, 28, 101259. [More Information]
- Zhang, Y., Nelson, J., Mulley, C. (2024). Learning from the evidence: Insights for regulating e-scooters. Transport Policy, 151, 63-74. [More Information]
Conferences
- Zhang, Y., Nelson, J., Mulley, C., Kent, J. (2024). Shared E-Scooters: A Whim or the Wheels of Tomorrow? Thredbo 18 Conference 2024, Cape Town, South Africa: University of Sydney Institute of Transport and Logistics Studies.
- Zhang, Y., Kent, J., Nelson, J., Tong, M., Vardoulakis, S. (2023). Active transport during and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic: lessons from international experience. 44th Australasian Transport Research Forum (ATRF), Perth, Australia: Australasian Transport Research Forum. [More Information]
- Zhang, Y., Nelson, J., Mulley, C. (2023). Evidence review on micromobility safety. 44th Australasian Transport Research Forum (ATRF), Perth, Australia: Australasian Transport Research Forum. [More Information]
Magazine / Newspaper Articles
- Gurran, N., Gilbert, C., Phibbs, P., Zhang, Y. (2018). Key workers like nurses and teachers are being squeezed out of Sydney. This is what we can do about it. The Conversation.
Research Reports
- Gurran, N., Phibbs, P., Gilbert, C., Zhang, Y. (2018). Options to improve key worker access to home ownership, January 2018, (pp. 1 - 32). Sydney, Australia, Australia: Urban Housing Lab.
- Gurran, N., Zhang, Y., Shrestha, P., Gilbert, C. (2018). Planning responses to online short term holiday rental platforms, (pp. 1 - 76). Melbourne, Australia, Australia: Australian Coastal Councils Association Inc..
2024
- Zhang, Y., Shao, J., Nelson, J., Kent, J., Vardoulakis, S. (2024). Gender, Weather, and Time of Day: Active Travel Observations In Greater Sydney. Findings, December. [More Information]
- Zhang, Y., Kent, J., Harris, P., Nelson, J., Tong, M., Vardoulakis, S. (2024). International experiences on active travel planning: Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives, 28, 101259. [More Information]
- Zhang, Y., Nelson, J., Mulley, C. (2024). Learning from the evidence: Insights for regulating e-scooters. Transport Policy, 151, 63-74. [More Information]
2023
- Zhang, Y., Kent, J., Nelson, J., Tong, M., Vardoulakis, S. (2023). Active transport during and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic: lessons from international experience. 44th Australasian Transport Research Forum (ATRF), Perth, Australia: Australasian Transport Research Forum. [More Information]
- Zhang, Y., Nelson, J., Mulley, C. (2023). Evidence review on micromobility safety. 44th Australasian Transport Research Forum (ATRF), Perth, Australia: Australasian Transport Research Forum. [More Information]
- Zhang, Y. (2023). Learning from the Literature: Insights for Regulating E-scooters in New South Wales, Australia. TRANSW Symposium 2023, Sydney, Australia: Transport Research Association for NSW.
2022
- Zhang, Y., Gurran, N. (2022). Could Shared Housing Make Cities More Sustainable? Evidence from Sydney, Australia. International Association for China Planning (IACP) Conference 2022, Wuhan, China: International Association for China Planning.
2021
- Zhang, Y., Gurran, N. (2021). Understanding the Share Housing Sector: A Geography of Group Housing Supply in Metropolitan Sydney. Urban Policy and Research, 39(1), 16-32. [More Information]
2020
- Gurran, N., Zhang, Y., Shrestha, P. (2020). 'Pop-up' tourism or 'invasion'? Airbnb in coastal Australia. Annals of Tourism Research, 81(March 2020), 1-17. [More Information]
2019
- Zhang, Y., Gurran, N. (2019). Understanding the Share Housing Sector: A Geography of Group Housing Supply in Metropolitan Sydney. State of Australian Cities Conference, Australia: 9th State of Australian Cities National Conference.
- Zhang, Y., Gurran, N. (2019). Understanding the Share Housing Sector: A Geography of Group Housing Supply in Metropolitan Sydney. The Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning (ACSP) Conference 2019, Greenville, South Carolina: Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning. [More Information]
2018
- Gurran, N., Gilbert, C., Phibbs, P., Zhang, Y. (2018). Key workers like nurses and teachers are being squeezed out of Sydney. This is what we can do about it. The Conversation.
- Gurran, N., Phibbs, P., Gilbert, C., Zhang, Y. (2018). Options to improve key worker access to home ownership, January 2018, (pp. 1 - 32). Sydney, Australia, Australia: Urban Housing Lab.
- Gurran, N., Zhang, Y., Shrestha, P., Gilbert, C. (2018). Planning responses to online short term holiday rental platforms, (pp. 1 - 76). Melbourne, Australia, Australia: Australian Coastal Councils Association Inc..
Selected Grants
2024
- Micromobility parking facilities at key interchange train stations: A study in Sydney, Australia, Zhang Y, Sydney Business School/Early Career Research Scheme
2020
- Housing key workers: scoping challenges, aspirations and policy responses for Australian cities, Gilbert C, Zhang Y, Gurran N, Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute Ltd (AHURI)/National Housing Research Program - Research Projects