20 May 2025
On 12 May, Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University welcomed Lv Zhong, Chief Engineer of the Shanghai Municipal Engineering Design Institute (Group) Co., Ltd. and Vice President of the Shanghai Sustainable Development Research Association to deliver a public lecture titled Flowers and Homeland: New Narrative for Urban Branding.
Ms Zhong explored innovative strategies to integrate ecological branding, community regeneration, and urban industries and highlighted case studies and award-winning examples.
Professor Marc Aurel Schnabel, Dean of the Design School, delivered the opening remark, emphasising the university’s commitment to bridging academia, industry, and public sectors through knowledge-sharing platforms.
Professor Marc Aurel Schnabel
Dr Yunqing Xu from Design School chaired the event by highlighting that the theme?Flowers and Homeland?opened discussions on the interesting intersections between beautifying urban living environment and enriching inner meaning of urban life, providing an opportunity to integrating wide fields in science, art and humanity.
Dr Yunqing Xu
Lv Zhong drew on her rich experience as a co-curator of the ongoing 2025 Shanghai International Flower Show to illustrate how decentralised, city-wide spatial strategies can connect ecological values with cultural and commercial values. Moving from temporary large-scale events to longer-term community vitality, Ms Zhong shared more insights through a number of first-hand cases on building resilient and inclusive communities through light-touch interventions, public participation, and institutional mechanisms like the Neighbourhood?Partnership Programme.
Lv Zhong
The discussion session was moderated by Dr Shih-yang Kao from the Department of Urban Planning and Design. Faculty members and postgraduate students from Design School and the Department of Environmental Science joined?the conversation. A number of enterprises representatives also participated, including CCDI(Suzhou) Exploration & Design Consultant Co.,Ltd.,?Suzhou Institute of Landscape Architecture Design Co., Ltd., and Singapore SCP Consultants Pte Ltd. Discussion topics ranged widely from embedding ecological thinking in non-traditional public spaces to connecting flower exhibitions with urban horticulture. The conversation also examined how designers navigate their roles amid community needs, commercial imperatives, and policy expectations.
Dr Shih-yang Kao
Enterprise representatives engaged with discussions
The event explored ecological urban branding and public space governance through interdisciplinary design, highlighting how design thinking can integrate institutional mechanisms with local practice in the context of ecological transition. Zhong’s reflections offered extensive insights into collaborative urban regeneration, meanwhile opening up further dialogues?on the evolving roles of design professionals.
Story provided by Urban and Environmental Studies University Research Centre
20 May 2025