Yanmei Li

Yanmei Li, Ph.D, AICP, is an American urban planner, author and professor specializing in housing and community development, research methods, and real estate and urban economics. Her research expertise is in residential satisfaction, social capital, neighborhood change, affordable housing policies, housing programs for people with special needs, and how race, gender, and ethnicity have played roles in the unequal policy and practice of planning and the housing market. She has published in top journals in planning, such as the Journal of Planning Education and Research, Housing Policy Debate, Housing Studies, and Landscape Research. In 2022 a book (with Dr. Sumei Zhang) about Applied Research Methods in Urban and Regional Planning was published by Springer. The book uniquely covers the research process from identifying the research questions to communicating the research results, encompassing demographic analysis, economic analysis, basic statistical methods, qualitative methods, evaluation research, environmental analysis, transportation analysis, and housing analysis. Among the published refereed journal articles and book entries, she was the sole author and lead author for many of them. Additionally, she has presented more than thirty papers in various reputable national and international conferences. She has served as a faculty collaborator, principal investigator (PI), or co-principal investigator (Co-PI) on multiple grants that totaled above $800,000.

She is currently an Associate Professor in the department of Urban and Regional Planning in the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science at Florida Atlantic University. She is also the Director of Assessment and Administrative Fellow for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) for the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science. She leads the Committee for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for the college as well. During her tenure as the DEI fellow she led the efforts to create a DEI action plan, revamped the online presence and communication tools, drafted and implemented a college hiring procedure to increase faculty diversity, helped to establish the student learning outcome (SLO) assessment framework relating to DEI for all more than 40 degree programs and certificates in the college, organized seminars, workshops, and events. During the faculty hiring process, she helped search committees with their job ads, organized trainings (e.g. Strategies and Tactics for Recruiting to Improve Diversity and Excellence), and closely monitored each search committee in strategies to improve the diversity of the candidate pool. She organized teaching forums and new faculty workshops, created a depository of assessment resources for faculty to reference and share. She worked closely with the chairs/directors, the Associate Deans, and the Dean on various issues and initiatives relating to DEI. She organized four subcommittees working on events, the DEI action plan, DEI institutional reporting templates, and accountability. The signature event, the College of Science Diversity in Science Festival, was initiated in 2022 under her leadership.

She is a certified and active member of the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP). She is a certified SAS 9 Base and Advanced Programmer by the SAS Institute. She has actively participated in the plan-making process of local communities, served on multiple advisory committees, and taken on various leadership roles in multiple academic and professional organizations.

Education

As an undergraduate student, Li received her Bachelor of Science in Geography at East China Normal University, Shanghai, China in 1998. Her thesis focuses on the characteristics and development strategies of Hi-tech industries in Changjiang Delta, a revised manuscript of which was published in a leading Chinese journal in regional science, Areal Research and Development. She received numerous awards and recognition while attending East China Normal University, one of which is the Top 10 Female College Students of Shanghai. She later attended Beijing Normal University, studying under Dr. Dianting Wu and completing her M.A. in Economics in 2001, with a focus on Regional Economics. Her thesis uses the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) methods to analyze the spatial distribution and optimal scale of rural migrants in Beijing. Upon graduation she received full scholarships and financial aid from two American Universities. In August 2001 she started her doctorate study at the Ohio State University (OSU), under Dr. Hazel Morrow-Jones. Later that year she started working for the Ohio Department of Development, as an intern within the internship program run by the City and Regional Planning in the Knowlton School of Architecture at OSU. In 2004, she stopped working as an intern and started working as a Research Assistant for Dr. Morrow-Jones. She worked on projects such as Racial Disparities in Homeownership, Household Mobility, and Neighborhood Satisfaction, and the Dynamic Interaction between Residential Mortgage Foreclosure, Neighborhood Characteristics, and Changes. In 2006 she received her Ph.D. in City and Regional Planning from The Ohio State University.

Professional positions

2022 - present	Director of Assessment at the Schmidt College of Science at Florida Atlantic University
2021 - present	Administrative Fellow for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at the Schmidt College of Science at Florida Atlantic University
2020 - present	Chair for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee at the Schmidt College of Science, Florida Atlantic University
2014 - present	Associate Professor in the Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Florida Atlantic University
2012 - 2014	Graduate Program Coordinator, School of Urban and Regional Planning, Florida Atlantic University
2008 - 2014	Assistant Professor in the Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Florida Atlantic University
2006 - 2008	Assistant Professor in the Department of Geography and Geology, Western Kentucky University
2004 - 2006	Research Assistant in City and Regional Planning, The Ohio State University
2001 - 2004	Intern, Office of Housing and Community Partnerships, Ohio Department of Development
1998 - 2000	Research Assistant in the Department of Resources and Environmental Science, Beijing Normal University

Research

The first line of Li's research focuses on the relationship between the housing market, neighborhood dynamics, and community development policies, particularly how foreclosure crises, institutional ownership, foreign ownership, climate gentrification, etc. has impacted neighborhood change and how neighborhood effects contribute to the concentration of foreclosures and poverty. The second line of her research is about household, neighborhood dynamics, and community development policies, particularly neighborhood satisfaction and residential preferences among immigrants, female headed households, mobile home dwellers, and racial and ethnic minorities. Her third line of research focuses on general housing policy issues, such as disaster housing, the challenge of sea-level rise on housing, and low income housing policies. Her research has indicated that lower income minority communities have seen concentrated subprime loans, residential mortgage foreclosures, and increased traffic crash risks, while some of these neighborhoods are facing the challenges of population displacement due to climate gentrification. Her goals are to recommend equitable policies to tackle the uneven development of neighborhoods and communities. Her research also intends to evaluate current housing and urban policies to identify whether they helped achieve the intended goals. She also finds that stronger neighborhood social capital contributes to higher neighborhood satisfaction.

Teaching

Li taught fourteen (14) different courses (six graduate and eight undergraduate courses) at Florida Atlantic University. She taught in-person, mixed online and classroom, synchronized online and classroom, and fully online courses. She taught research methods, economic development, urban revitalization, urban history, planning studio and workshop, and planning project courses. The students in her courses were exposed to many hands-on real world planning projects for local communities. She has mentored many students through research assistantships, internships, and directed independent studies.

Leadership Experience

As the Director of Assessment for the College of Science at FAU, Li is responsible for the student learning outcome (SLO) assessment plans for more than 40 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in the college. She reviews SLO plans and results, develops college summary report in student learning outcome assessment, organizes and hosts teaching forums and assessment roundtables. She initiated a new faculty teaching workshop starting in 2022 and leads the efforts of creating a centralized platform of teaching resources. She organizes career development workshops and panels for students. As the Administrative Fellow for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and chair for the DEI committee, she monitors the hiring process to ensure diversity and excellence, organizes and facilitates training workshops in hiring, established stronger online references and webpages on diversity, organizes and hosts seminars on diversity, organizes and leads the Diversity in Science Festivals, leads four working groups within the committee to work on DEI plans, DEI reporting templates, events, and accountability, and actively involved in university efforts in promoting DEI by serving on various university-level committees. As a co-chair for the conference track Community Development at the annual ACSP (American Collegiate Schools of Planning) she participated in conference planning meetings, managed and reviewed abstract submissions, recommended abstract acceptance and rejections, organized and named conference sessions, solicited and confirmed session discussants and facilitators, and monitored conference sessions and participated in post-conference briefing meetings. During 2012 and 2014, Li served as the Graduate Program Coordinator for the School of Urban and Regional Planning at Florida Atlantic University. She drafted and implemented student recruitment plans, supervised and advised students for success, mapped and managed the curriculum, proposed new courses, and served on curriculum committees.She has served on various local advisory committees and was the membership secretary for Palm Beach County Planning Congress (PBCPC). Currently she serves as a board member for PBCPC.

Based on her leadership experience in promoting DEI among higher education institutions, she focuses on the following strategies:

• The six-point approach of diversity, equity, and inclusion: 1) communication; 2) recruitment and retention of diverse students, faculty, and staff; 3) integration of diversity, equity, and inclusion in curriculum, teaching, outreach, service, and research; 4) fostering a safe and inclusive climate/environment; 5) policy and procedures; 6) organized and structured top-down and bottom-up approaches to implement DEI initiatives.
• Prioritizing recruitment and retention strategies by creating programs that provide access and a pathway to higher education for groups traditionally underrepresented.
• Organizing training and workshop programs in increasing diversity in new hires, student admissions, and integrating diversity, equity, and inclusion into the curriculum and teaching.
• Organize diversity lecture series, diversity dialogs, and/or diversity voice programs.
• Setting up goals, objectives, strategies, and implementation schedules to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion, and establishing performance and benchmark measures to monitor successes.
• Actively seeking teaching, curriculum, and research grants promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion. Promoting fund-raising activities in celebrating diversity, equity, and inclusion such as establishing diversity scholarships, and providing funding for student and faculty activities and organizations related to diversity, equity, and inclusion.  
• Enhancing the learning experience in and outside of the classroom, workshops, internships, studios, and fieldwork for all students through exposure to new perspectives on cultures, beliefs and practices.
• Engaging or addressing barriers to full participation in the student educational experience by delivering course content tailored to different backgrounds and experiences. Encourage a combination of high-stake assessment items and smaller exercises for students with various learning styles and abilities. Encourage faculty to be sensitive to the needs of the students who have disabilities requiring special accommodations.  
• Actively promoting research and scholarship focusing on social justice.
• Establishing policies mentoring students and junior faculty members to enhance opportunities for underrepresented students and junior faculty to succeed in the academe, particularly those from historically underprivileged backgrounds.  
• Committing to public engagement with organizations or community groups serving marginalized populations or extending opportunities to disadvantaged people.

External Links

• Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Florida Atlantic University
• Yanmei Li publications indexed by Google Scholar
• South Florida PBS - The Affordable Housing Crises Discussion 12 May 2017

Published Books and Encyclopedia Articles

Li, Yanmei, and Sumei Zhang. 2022. Applied Research Methods in Urban and Regional Planning. Springer.

Li, Yanmei. 2018. Residential mortgage foreclosure. Global Encyclopedia of Public Administration, Public Policy, and Governance. Springer Nature.

Li, Yanmei. 2018. Low income housing policy in the United States. Global Encyclopedia of Public Administration, Public Policy, and Governance. Springer Nature.

Li, Yanmei. 2012. Residential mobility. The Encyclopedia of Housing. 2nd ed. Andrew T. Carswell (ed.). Sage Publications: 610-615.

Selected Peer Reviewed Publications

• Dumbaugh, Eric, Yanmei Li, Dibakar Saha, and Wesley Marshall. 2022. Why do lower-income areas experience worse road safety outcomes? Examining the role of the built environment in Orange County, Florida. Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives, 16. DOI: 10.1016/j.trip.2022.100696.
• Li, Hui, Jing Jing, Honghong Fan, Yanmei Li, Yang Liu, Jiahao Ren. 2020. Identifying cultural heritage corridors for preservation through multidimensional network connectivity analysis - A case study of the ancient Tea-Horse Road in Simao, China. Landscape Research. Published online November 3, 2020. DOI: 10.1080/01426397.2020.1833850.
• Li, Yanmei, and Sumei Zhang. 2020. Social capital as a predictor of neighborhood satisfaction: an analysis of American Housing Survey national data. Housing and Society. First published online September 12, 2020. DOI: 10.1080/08882746.2020.1813516.
• Zhang, Sumei, Yanmei Li, Emmanuel Frimpong Boamah, and Justin Mog. 2020. Gender disparity in travel demand management of university students and employees. Journal of Planning Education and Research, 1-20. First published online July 15, 2020. DOI: 10.1177/0739456X20934190.
• Anacker, Katrin, and Yanmei Li. 2016. Analyzing housing affordability of renters during the Great Recession 2007 to 2009. Housing and Society, 43(1): 1-17. DOI: 10.1080/08882746.2016.1160556.
• Hur, Misun, Yanmei Li, and Kathryn Terzano. 2015. Breaking the chain: Understanding the association between foreclosure intensity and neighborhood satisfaction. Applied Geography, 58:7-17. DOI:10.1016/j.apgeog.2015.01.004.
• Walter, Rebecca J., Yanmei Li, and Serge Atherwood. 2015. Moving to opportunity? An examination of Housing Choice Vouchers on urban poverty deconcentration in South Florida. Housing Studies, 30(7): 1064-1091. DOI: 10.1080/02673037.2015.1009004.
• Li, Yanmei, Mary Wenning, and Hazel Morrow-Jones. 2013. Differences in neighborhood satisfaction between African American and White homeowners during the Early 2000s. Housing and Society, Journal of the Housing Education and Research Association, 40(2): 124-149.
• Li, Yanmei, and Rebecca Walter. 2013. Single-family housing market segmentation, post-foreclosure resale duration, and neighborhood attributes. Housing Policy Debate, 23(4): 643-665.
• Gibson, Huston, and Yanmei Li. 2013. Opportunities for the United States condominium foreclosure market to provide amenable affordable housing options: The case of Tampa/Hillsborough, Florida. Urbani Izziv, 24(1): 90-106 (in English and Slovene).
• Li, Yanmei. 2012. Neighborhood amenities, satisfaction, and perceived livability of foreign-born and native-born U.S. residents. Journal of Identity and Migration Studies, 6(1): 115-137.
• Mitsova, Diana, Ann-Margaret Esnard, and Yanmei Li. 2012. Using enhanced dasymetric mapping techniques to improve the spatial accuracy of sea level rise vulnerability assessments. Journal of Coastal Conservation: Planning and Management, 16(3): 355-372.
• Li, Yanmei. 2011. Geography of opportunity and residential mortgage foreclosure: A spatial analysis of a U.S. housing market. Journal of Urban and Regional Analysis, 3(2): 195-214.
• Li, Yanmei. 2011. Subprime lending and neighborhood characteristics: Spatial patterns by loan category. Housing and Society, Journal of the Housing Education and Research Association, 38 (1): 83-116.
• Sapat, Alka, Yanmei Li, Christine M. Mitchell, and Ann-Margaret Esnard. 2011. Policy learning and policy change: Katrina, Ike and post-disaster housing. International Journal of Mass Emergencies and Disasters, 29 (1): 26-56.
• Li, Yanmei, and Hazel Morrow-Jones. 2010. The impact of residential mortgage foreclosure on neighborhood change and succession. Journal of Planning Education and Research, 30(1): 22-39.

References

This article "Yanmei Li" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Yanmei Li. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.

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