PhD candidate, IPA Research Assistant
e-mail: xuanj@udel.edu
phone: 302-831-8971 | fax: 302-831-3488
180 Graham Hall | IPA | University of Delaware | Newark, DE 19716-7380
introduction | education | experience | qualifications | conferences | projects and reports |downloadables
IntroductionI am currently a second-year Ph.D. student in the School of Urban Affairs & Public Policy. My research field is economic development and urban revitalization. I have strong interest in creative economy and am curious about the cultural market, creative industries, and institutional efforts in increasing creative capital.
I am a Research Assistant at the Institute for Public Administration. Right now, I am working on a project about the fiscal impacts of housing development in Delaware. Last year, I mainly worked on a Coastal Communities Enhancement Initiative project and wrote a strategic planning report about developing heritage tourism programs in Sussex County, Delaware. I have also worked on some GIS projects, involving various fields such as transportation corridor, economic development, environment, and education.
I also have Research Assistant experience in University of Maryland at College Park, having worked on a project about the impacts of economic restructuring on local residential–pattern change. I also cherish the experiences from the practical world. I have served as a planning intern for the Alexandria Commission for the Arts in Alexandria, Va., and the City of Shaker Heights, Ohio.
After completing the doctoral program, I truly hope to become a university faculty member or a consultant—advocating, producing, and/or implementing policies to strengthen art and culture’s role in economic and urban development.
EducationMA, University of Maryland at College Park, 2006, Urban and Economic Geography
MA, University of Delaware, 2004, Applied Econometrics
BA, Xiamen University, China, 1999, Economics
ExperienceSpring 2007–Present
Research Assistant, Institute of Public Administration, University of Delaware, Newark, Del.
Summer 2007
Planning Intern, Alexandria Commission for the Arts, Alexandria, Va.
Summer 2006
Planning Intern, Dept. of Neighborhood Revitalization, the City of Shaker Heights, Ohio
2004-2005
Research Assistant, the University of Maryland, College Park, Md.
2002
Research Assistant, the University of Delaware, Newark, Del.
1999–2001
Project Assistant, Guangzhou International Economy and Trade Commission, Guangzhou, China
1997
Research Assistant, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China
QualificationsComputer: MS Office (Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Publisher, Access, Oulook), SAS, ArcGIS, Eview, Limdep, Mathematica, ProCite
Language: Bilingual in English and Chinese Mandarin, Chinese Cantonese
ConferencesPresenter, Delaware GIS Annual Conference, Dover, Del., 2008
Attendee, American Planning Association Conference, Philadelphia, Pa., 2007
Attendee, Press Release Conference, Cultural Alliance of Greater Washington, Washington, D.C., 2007
Attendee, Delaware GIS Conference, Dover, Del., 2007
Attendee, Association of American Geography, Philadelphia, Pa., 2004
Projects and ReportsFiscal Impact of Growth and Development in Delaware, 2008
This project uses fiscal-impact analysis (FIA) to quantitatively assess the fiscal costs of the residential and non-residential development patterns in Delaware in recent years. The project is at the beginning stage, and the demographic and service multipliers specific to Delaware are under development.
Coastal Community Enhancement Initiative, Heritage Tourism in Sussex County, Delaware, 2007
The goal of the Coastal Community Enhancement Initiative is to preserve their quality of life in the face of rapid population growth in Sussex County, Delaware. The purpose of the heritage tourism project was to identify the established resources of historical and cultural significance and examine land-use and demographic trends by GIS to assess the impacts on the county’s cultural and historic resources. As a result, a heritage tourism planning guidebook Methods for Implementing Heritage Tourism in Sussex County, Delaware has been published.
Evaluation of the Arts and Cultural Vitality of the City of Alexandria, 2007
Alexandria, Va., is rich in arts and cultural resources, and the Alexandrians love and demand for arts. Enhancing the vitality of the local arts and cultural is very important for the City, and evaluating the vitality is the first step. This report develops quantitative indexes to measure and evaluate the arts and cultural vitality of Alexandria. The report finally indicates the degree of the vitality of the arts and culture in Alexandria, the economic impacts of the local culture, the degree of the participation for local arts and culture from residents and tourism, and support from local government. Policy suggestions are also provided based on the result.
Certified Shaker: Encouraging the Reinvestment in Rental Housing, 2006
This report is application document for the 2006 James C. Howland Award for Municipal Excellence hosted by National League of Cities. It briefly promoted the innovative “Certified Shaker” program, encouraging the reinvestment in rental housing, of the City of Shaker Heights, Ohio, and briefly described the goals, strategies, achievements, and further steps of this program.
The Economic Restructuring on the Residential Pattern Change, 2005
The paper utilizes spatial analysis to study the economic transition, from manufacturing oriented structure towards information-oriented structure, occurred in Pittsburgh (Pa.) region, 1970–2000. It also analyzes the impacts of such economic restructuring on the local residential patterns of different groups of people. This research is at multi-scales, and the geographic scales include the Pittsburgh central city, Allegany County, Pittsburgh MSA, and Mid-Appalachian Highland Area.
GIS Projects
DownloadablesHeritage Tourism Planning Guidebook: Methods for Implementing Heritage Tourism Programs in Sussex County, Delaware (4.1MB) 
published August 2008
