Validated Expert info
Expert can perform Ad hoc expertise missions at network and programme level in relation to:
1. The design and delivery of (transnational) exchange and learning activities
2. Thematic expertise:
[Digital transformation, Strategic urban planning]
3. Methods and tools for integrated and participatory approaches:
> Integrated and participatory design of strategies
Summary
Dr Jiayi (Jennifer) Jin is an Assistant Professor at Northumbria University. Her transdisciplinary research bridges architectural and planning theory, digital urban technologies, sustainable development, and participatory planning. Her work critically explores how creative and inclusive methods can shape equitable and intelligent urban futures.
She has a proven track record in leading research projects funded by the British Academy (2021 and 2024), the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC, 2023-24 and 2025-26). Her collaborative practice extends across academia, the cultural sector, and civil society, having received recognition through a range of research and innovation awards such as the Newcastle Culture Investment Fund (2021), the Early Career Artist Bursary (2020–21), and the England Arts Council’s Digital Culture Award (2019).
Her expertise centres on three interconnected themes:
1) Creative Participation for Inclusive Planning. As Principal Investigator of the AHRC-funded project: 'Participatory Neighbourhood Planning for the 'Brown to Green' Transition in Tyneside' (Grant Ref: AH/Y000250/1), and Co-Investigator of the British Academy project 'Collective Participation in Community-Based Cultural Organisations' (Grant Ref: SSF/210084). She investigates how co-design and collective agency can inform transformative urban regeneration.
2) Digital Applications for Urban Initiatives. She is Co-Investigator on the British Academy project: ‘Navigating Eco-Social Vulnerabilities (NESV): Uncovering Knowledge and Practical Gaps Across the UK, the Netherlands and Norway’, and is leading the AHRC project "Navigating Urban Ecologies: Mapping the Habitation Patterns and Socio-Ecological Dynamics of Kittiwakes along the River Tyne" (AHRC, £128K). Her research integrates spatial data and digital storytelling to support responsive and resilient urban governance.
3) Reimagining the City for Gender Inclusivity. With the project 'Gender-inclusive Cities' (PI, 2022-), her research explores how urban design and planning are both conceptualised and lived through a gender lens. The project advances interdisciplinary inquiry into gender equity in urban contexts, drawing on fields such as feminist urban theory, the role of masculinity in spatial design, gendered power relations, and inclusive approaches to urban form and morphology.