Richard Hu

Richard Hu is an urban planner and a megaproject manager. His work and interests—both intellectual and professional—integrate built environment, economy, and technology to address contemporary urban transformations and sustainable development, with a focus on the Asia-Pacific region.

Hu is the author of Reinventing the Chinese City (2023), Smart Design (2021), and The Shenzhen Phenomenon (2020), among other books. 

Hu convenes the Asian Cities Network, a global enabling platform for knowledge sharing and policy debates on urban development in Asia. He is the editor of Routledge Handbook of Asian Cities (2023) and book series Routledge Research in Sustainable Planning and Development in Asia. 

Hu’s research and consultancy are diverse, multidisciplinary, and international. The funders include Australian Research Council (ARC), three tiers of Australian government, industry, and international agencies, investigating issues of urban governance, design excellence, global cities, urban competitiveness and sustainability, place-based innovation, and migration. Representative research outputs include Designing the Global City (2018) and Global Shanghai Remade (2019).

Prior to academia, Hu was an urban practitioner and manager, working on the planning, design, and management of mega urban development projects. 

Hu is a registered planner with the Planning Institute of Australia (RPIA), and a certified planner with the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP). He received five PIA awards of planning excellence (NSW and ACT divisions) and one national commendation.