Dr. Xiaofan Liang’s primary research focuses on urban networks, as well as the impact and application of new technologies and data on urban planning and governance. Dr. Liang is now inviting prospective PhD students to apply now and start Fall 2026 at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, with a high likelihood of close collaboration with her.

Research Direction

Dr. Liang’s research areas include but are not limited to:

• (Urban Network) Developing new frameworks and methods to understand, model, and contest urban infrastructure duality, such as how different populations experience infrastructure unevenly, and how network infrastructure may have a dual role at the local level and the network level, such as which infrastructures amplify centrality while displacing or bypassing local needs (More details are outlined here).
• (Urban Network) Examining how multiple network systems—transportation, social, digital, infrastructural—interact, conflict, or compete in urban environments. This could include methods to represent, measure, and translate benefits and harms across systems with distinct goals, languages, and data, such as how expanding one network (e.g., transit) undermines another (e.g., social infrastructure), or build tools to reveal how competing network logics shape urban change, inclusion, and governance (More details are outlined here).
• (Urban Networks; Informatics & AI) Understanding planning implications of AI infrastructure (e.g., data centers) and their intersections with utility, energy, and renewable networks in cities.
• (Informatics & AI) Investigating the data, technology, and AI governance and application in urban context, such as extracting structured information from zoning documents, improving multi-data stream management for public transit authority, and using large language models to analyze AI policies across different cities.
• (Informatics & AI) Exploring spectrum of human agency and human collaboration practices with AI (e.g., from labeling data, co-design, participation, to resistance) that facilitate applications with high-stake policy impacts.

Ideal candidates should have interests in two or more research areas above and the willingness to work closely with Dr. Liang. Desired qualities include

• Strong technical skills, including programming, geospatial analysis, database, web development, etc. that can quickly prototype innovative solutions,
• A long-standing commitment to sociotechnical approaches that critically engage data and technology—such as advancing ethical and responsible applications or addressing their social implications in planning processes, community engagement, urban governance, and public decision-making.
• Strong writing skills and deep scholarly curiosity (ask yourself, what is a book that you recently read that fascinates/inspires you about theories and/or mechanisms of the world)

Students with interdisciplinary and diverse backgrounds and interests are especially encouraged to apply. Priority will be given to students who have experience and would like to engage with both Urban Network and Urban AI direction of work.

Department and PhD Funding & Application Information

The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, is one of the top 3 leading public universities in the U.S. It ranks 21st nationally according to US News and is consistently placed within the top 20 globally by Times Higher Education. The Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning is one of the university’s most distinguished schools, with many renowned professors in various planning fields. The department has a strong alumni network in Detroit, Michigan, and across the globe. Other competitive schools within the university include the Computer Science department, the School for Environment and Sustainability, the Ross School of Business, and the Medical School.

The Urban and Regional Planning Department offers three major degree programs: PhD in Urban Planning, Master’s in Urban Planning, and a Bachelor’s in Urban Technology.

PhD students in the department are fully funded for at least five years, with the expectation of serving as teaching assistants once every year. The department offers generous benefits, including PhD stipends higher than the average for similar departments, summer funding, child care subsidies, and free health insurance.

The City of Ann Arbor

Ann Arbor consistently ranks among the top 10 most livable cities in the U.S. The city has a highly educated and diverse population, abundant small parks, extensive bike lanes, making it very safe and well-equipped with various amenities. Ann Arbor’s cultural scene is also vibrant, with music and arts festivals attracting visitors every summer. Despite being a small city, Ann Arbor enjoys the convenience of proximity to a major urban hub. It is only an hour’s bus ride from downtown Detroit and a 30-minute drive from Detroit Metro Airport, a key hub for Delta Airlines. Ann Arbor also has regular train services to Chicago.

Advisor Introduction