03 FEB 2026 (TUE) 14:00-15:00

GEOG HKU
21 hours ago
2 min read

Geography Distinguished Seminars Series

Why More Roads Fail: Rethinking Urban Mobility from a Geographical Perspective

Date: 03 FEB 2026 (Tuesday)

Time: TBC (HKT)

Venue: CLL, Department of Geography, 10/F, The Jockey Club Tower, Centennial Campus, HKU

Mode: Hybrid

Via Zoom: Zoom link will be provided upon successful registration

Registration link: https://hkuems1.hku.hk/hkuems/ec_hdetail.aspx?guest=Y&ueid=105026

Abstract:

Urban transport is not merely a technical or engineering problem; it is fundamentally a geographical question of space, power, behaviour, and political choice. Across the world, cities continue to invest heavily in road expansion, yet congestion, inequality, carbon emissions, and spatial fragmentation persist—and often intensify. This presentation critically examines the structural limitations of supply-led transport development and argues for a paradigmatic shift toward demand-side governance and people-centred mobility, drawing on comparative urban experiences from Europe, North America, and East Asia. Through empirically grounded case studies—including the failure of highway expansion on Los Angeles’ I-405, the demand-oriented transformation of the New York Time Square reform, Paris’ post-car spatial reconfiguration, Copenhagen’s cycling-centred urbanism, and Seouls Cheonggyecheon freeway removal—the presentation demonstrates how transport systems actively produce urban space, rather than simply serving it.

Professor Daizong Liu

East Asia Director, Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP, US)

Daizong Liu is the East Asia Director at the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP, US), with 23 years of experience in sustainable urban planning, transport, and climate policy. His career spans research, practice, and governance, with work across Asia, Latin America, and beyond.

Prior to joining ITDP, Liu worked with the World Resources Institute, the Energy Foundation’s China Sustainable Transport Program, CPG Consultants in Singapore, and the Intelligent Transportation Systems Center at Southeast University. In 2022, he was appointed Visiting Professor at the College of Architecture and Landscape at Peking University.

Liu holds numerous advisory and leadership positions, including:

Member, China Association for Science and Technology’s UN Advisory Committee on Transport
Chair, Future Transport Discipline, World Transport Congress
Expert Member, Beijing Municipal Transportation Commission
Advisor on Shared Mobility, Counselors’ Office of the State Council
Project Advisor, World Bank TOD initiatives
Special Expert, CAST “Haizhi Plan”
Consultant, New Development Bank (BRT projects)

In 2020, he co-led Chile’s national e-bus procurement initiative, which received the inaugural Global Green Finance Award from the International Finance Forum (IFF).