Bio
Xinyi Yuan is a PhD student in Geospatial Data Science at the University of Glasgow, having joined in Fall 2022. Prior to this, she earned her MEng in Urban Planning from Southeast University (China) and her BEng in Urban Planning from Chongqing University (China). Her current research focuses on Explainable AI for urban and social studies and urban/social inequalities. She is also interested in the development and application of spatial statistical methods.
Research interests
Over recent decades, the UK has experienced rapid and uneven urban development, driven by demographic, socioeconomic factors, and policy considerations. Xinyi’s research uses building footprint data to identify changes in the built environment in England between 2017 and 2023. She then models these changes using socio-economic and demographic data with machine learning models to reveal any spatial and non-linear relationships. Her research seeks to answer two questions: First, what is the spatial distribution of urban development in England? Second, what are the demographic and socio-economic characteristics of places that experience more urban development than others? The goal of her research is to provide governments and urban planning departments with data-driven evidence to develop appropriate policies and guidance for the building construction, ensuring alignment with economic and social development.