Zhi Liu, Infrastructure Specialist, Named Director of Lincoln Institute China Program

Will also head Peking University-Lincoln Institute Center for Urban Development and Land Policy in Beijing

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Sep. 6, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Zhi Liu, a specialist in urban infrastructure and its financing at the World Bank, was named director of the China program at the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy and of the Peking University – Lincoln Institute Center for Urban Development and Land Policy in Beijing, China.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130906/DC75428)

Liu has been with the World Bank for 18 years, with operational experience in East Asia, South Asia, and Latin America, where he managed economic sector studies and investment lending projects in the infrastructure and urban sectors. In 1993-94, he was a research associate with the Harvard Institute for International Development. In 1985-87, he taught city and regional planning as a faculty member at Nanjing University.

He has authored and co-authored a number of academic papers and World Bank reports on topics including metropolitan infrastructure financing, low-carbon city development, sustainable urban transport, motorization, and poverty and transport.  He holds a B.S. from Zhongshan University, an M.S. from Nanjing University, and a Ph.D. from Harvard University.  In 2010, he served as vice chair of the Global Agenda Council for the Future of Transportation, World Economic Forum.

Part of the Department of International Studies, the Program on the People's Republic of China explores issues and challenges relating to land and taxation policy in China, with a focus on rapid urban development, the structure of metropolitan regions, housing, and environmental concerns. Research and analysis has concentrated on urbanization and planning; land policy and sustainable growth; and property taxation and public finance.

By engaging young scholars in land and tax policy studies, the China program strives to help create expert researchers, educators, and policy makers in China. Through strategic partnerships, the program seeks to share the Lincoln Institute's rich intellectual assets in land policy, planning, and taxation,, support and conduct research, and provide training and education opportunities.

In October 2007, the Lincoln Institute and Peking University established the Center for Urban Development and Land Policy on the campus of the university in Beijing. The center seeks to develop institutional capacity in China to address the many challenges of rapid urban growth, with the goal of strengthening expertise in land policy and planning for urban development, through research, fellowships, and training.

Liu succeeds Joyce Man, who served as director of the China program and as director of Center for Urban Development and Land Policy since its founding. Man, who is returning to her position at Indiana University, will continue to be a fellow at the Lincoln Institute.

The Lincoln Institute of Land Policy is a leading resource for key issues concerning the use, regulation, and taxation of land. Providing high-quality education and research, the Institute strives to improve public dialogue and decisions about land policy. 

SOURCE Lincoln Institute of Land Policy