Helen Bao

Research

My research spans seven interconnected lines, from two major active projects with several papers in flight to a signature line published continuously since 2010, alongside established themes in China’s land policy, real estate finance, and environmental sustainability, and a newer methodological direction. What connects them is a way of working: turning large spatial datasets into questions about place, behaviour, and inequality. Where a project lends itself to it, I publish an interactive map so the patterns can be explored directly rather than only read about. A growing collection is gathered below.

Interactive mapsView all maps
The Two Margins of Housing Search Two margins of search Extensive vs intensive Housing Demand by Town Type and Growth Trajectory Demand by town type Function × trajectory The ESG Facade: Disclosure and Lip Service among Chinese Listed Firms ESG lip service China, 2006–2022 Frontier Archetypes of Central America's Tropical Moist Forests Deforestation frontiers Central America, 1990–2023 The Aviation Carbon-Emission Network of the Yangtze River Delta Aviation emissions YRD flight network

Research Areas

My research spans seven interconnected areas. Each page below gathers its introduction, collaborators, events, publications, working papers, and interactive maps.

AI and computational methods for spatial analysis New data and inference techniques treated as research objects in their own right: their capabilities, failure modes and responsible deployment.
Exclusion and spatial inequality in housing markets How housing markets exclude, by prejudice, gatekeeping or scarcity, and how spatial constraints turn individual decisions into population-level inequality.
Spatial personality Estimating Big Five personality at scale from digital traces, and mapping how regional personality shapes entrepreneurship, mobility and resilience.
Spatial analysis of environment and climate Spatial measurement where official statistics are thin, and whether environmental commitments survive contact with incentives.
Spatial analysis of real estate and finance Extracting reliable price signals from thin, irregularly traded stock, and asking what actually moves property values.
Behavioural economics of housing decisions Why households depart from textbook-rational behaviour in housing decisions, and what reference dependence and loss aversion mean for policy.
Land use policy in China China's distinctive rural and urban land regimes, and their consequences for inequality, environmental quality and productivity.

Research Grants

I currently lead four externally funded projects, each in partnership with co-investigators overseas. Each page below sets out the project, the team, and the publications and working papers it supports.

Mapping and Studying Global Housing Discrimination (Cambridge–CityUHK Postdoctoral Research Fellow Scheme · £300,000 · September 2025 – August 2029)
Using Explainable AI in Spatial Analysis to Improve Urban Well-being and Mental Health (Cambridge–CityUHK Postdoctoral Research Fellow Scheme · £300,000 · September 2025 – August 2029)
Behavioural Economics and Institutional Analysis: The Case of China's Land System Reform (Northeast Forestry University · £44,000 · August 2025 – December 2026)
Spatial Governance, Behavioural Interventions and Regional Inequality: A Tale of Two Countries (The Royal Society & NSFC · £12,000 · January 2025 – December 2026)

Working with me

I supervise doctoral candidates on the above themes. Prospective students should consult the Cambridge Land Economy PhD programme page for admissions information and contact me directly to discuss fit before applying.

I welcome collaboration enquiries from researchers in adjacent fields such as applied psychology, computer science, urban planning, behavioural public administration. The Lab for Interdisciplinary Spatial Analysis is the institutional home for such work.

For specific paper inquiries or media requests, email me.

3 items under this folder.