Guo Mengdi

I am an associate professor at the Institute of Future Human Habitats, Tsinghua Shenzhen International Graduate School. My research bridges urban design, environmental science, and public health by investigating how computational approaches optimize urban form in high-density cities to reduce environmental exposure and improve human well-being. I obtained a PhD from the Department of Urban Planning and Design at the University of Hong Kong, a MSc in Urbanism from Delft University of Technology, and a Bachelor of Architecture from Tsinghua University.

Our research group admits 3 PhD candidates annually (1 position reserved for applicants from Mainland China; 2 positions open to international students and candidates from Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan), alongside a select number of master’s candidates. We particularly welcome applicants with expertise in architecture, urban planning, geography, environmental science, computer science, data science, or related interdisciplinary fields.

Aug.2014– Jul.2018, The University of Hong Kong, Urban Planning and Design, PhD

Aug.2011– Jul. 2013, Delft University of Technology, Urbanism, M.Sc.

Aug.2006 – Jul.2011, Tsinghua University, Architecture, Bachelor

Oct.2025 – Present, Tsinghua University Shenzhen International Graduate School, Institute of Future Human Habitats, Associate professor

Sep.2020-Mar.2025, Tianjin University, School of Architecture, Associate professor

Aug.2018 – Jul.2020, The University of Hong Kong, Department of Urban Planning and Design, Postdoc Fellow 

Guest Editor for Frontiers in Built Environment

My research aims to mitigate adverse environmental exposure while advancing human well-being through computational urban science, by optimizing urban form-environment interactions in high density cities. The intensification of negative environmental exposure in high density cities has created urgent public health imperatives, exposing fundamental limitations in conventional urban planning and design paradigms when applied to dense urban habitats. My research pioneers a two-axis framework to decode the relationship between urban form characteristics, environmental exposure dynamics, and human well-being in high density cities. The first axis integrates AI-driven predictive modeling with simulation and field measurement to understand the relationships between built environment configurations and their environmental impacts. The second employs machine learning enhanced urban big data analytics to examine population-specific patterns of environmental exposure, in order to understand the intrinsic connections between environmental exposure dynamics and human well-being in high density contexts.

National Natural Science Foundation of China (PI), 2023-2025

National Natural Science Foundation of China (Co-I), 2020-2023

Tsinghua-HKU strategic partnership funding (Co-I), 2019-2020

National Natural Science Foundation of China (Co-I), 2018-2020

Small Equipment Grant, HKU (Co-I), 2017-2020

[1] Guo M., Lin Y., Shyu R.J., Huang J., Characterizing environmental pollution with civil complaints and social media data: A case of the Greater Taipei Area, Journal of Environmental Management, Volume 348, 2023, 119310, doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.119310

[2] Shi J., Huang J., Guo M., Tian L., Wang J., Wong T.W., Webster C., Leung G.M., Ni M.Y., Contributions of residential traffic noise to depression and mental wellbeing in Hong Kong: A prospective cohort study, Environmental Pollution, Volume 338, 2023, 122641, doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2023.122641

[3] Guo M., Ni M.Y., Shyu R.J., Ji J.S. , Huang J., Automated simulation for household road traffic noise exposure: Application and field evaluation in a high-density city, Computers, Environment and Urban Systems, Volume 104, 2023, 102000, ISSN 0198-9715, doi.org/10.1016/j.compenvurbsys.2023.102000.

[4] Wang P., Xiang H., Guo M., Shi Y., Chong K.C., Huang J, Ho H.C. (2022) Indoor and roadside exposures to traffic noise and cardiovascular mortality and the role of urban environmental stressors across a high-rise, high-density environment: A case study in Hong Kong. Building and Environment. 229, pp. 109945. doi:10.1016/j.buildenv.2022.109945.

[5] Huang J., Cui Y., Li L., Guo M., Ho H.C., Lu Y., Webster C. (2022) Re-examining Jane Jacobs’ doctrine using new urban data in Hong Kong. Environment and Planning B: Urban Analytics and City Science. June 2022. doi:10.1177/23998083221106186

[6] Huang J., Xu Y., Jones P., Li X., Guo M., Liu G., Ji J. (2021) Building energy and thermo-hydraulic simulation (BETHS) for district heat system in residential communities: A case of Shenyang, China, Energy and Buildings, 247, pp. 111114. doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2021.111114

[7] Sun S., Cao W., Ge Y., Ran J., Sun F., Zeng Q., Guo M., Huang J., Lee R.S., Tian L., Wellenius G.A. (2021) Outdoor light at night and risk of coronary heart disease among older adults: a prospective cohort study, European Heart Journal, 42(8), pp. 822-830. doi: 10.1093/eurheartj/ehaa846. PMID: 33205210.

Honourable Mention, The UIA Award for Innovation in Architectural Education，2023

Research Output Prize, The University of Hong Kong，2022

Excellent Instructor, The Third Solar Decathlon China，2022

3rd Prize, Zhejiang Province Science and Technology Progress Award，2020