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Cai Yanjun

CAI Yanjun

Research Fellow

Urban Planning, Development Studies

EMAIL
yanjun_cai
sutd.edu.sg
CONTACT
64994863

Biography

Yanjun Cai is a Research Fellow at the Lee Kuan Yew Centre for Innovative Cities. Her research examines urban resilience and sustainability in the face of disruptions, such as climate hazards, rapid ageing, and digital transition, paying additional attention to disadvantaged populations.

 

She works across the Asia-Pacific and beyond, using mixed and participatory methods (e.g., photovoice) to study how communities and cities respond to environmental, technological and demographic changes. Recent work spans digital inclusion for older adults in Singapore, comparative smart-city and low-carbon benchmarking, and collaborative governance in urban regeneration across Seoul, Shenzhen, Vancouver, and Vienna. Earlier fieldwork addressed climate adaptation in metropolitan Manila, social entrepreneurship among women waste recyclers in peri-urban Yangon, and stream daylighting as a resilient nature-based solution in the ageing community of Guangzhou.

 

Yanjun contributes to LKYCIC’s Ageing Urbanism and Urban Innovation programmes. At SUTD she teaches Imagining Resilient Cities and supervises Master’s research. Yanjun is a member of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Commission on Education and Communication.

Education
  • Ph.D. in Urban and Regional Planning, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa / East-West Center, U.S. (2017)
  • M.A. in Sociology, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, U.S. (2011)
  • M.A. in Cultural Management, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China (2009)
  • B.A. in Chinese Language and Literature, Beijing Normal University, China (2008)
Selected Publications

Journal articles

Books

Book chapters

  • Cai, Y. (2025). Digital divide. In R. List, H. Anheier, & S. Toepler (Eds.), International encyclopedia of civil society (2nd ed.). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-99675-2_9646-1
  • Cai, Y., & Wu, S. (2023). Social development trends in the Philippines from 2021 to 2022: Abundant highlights and notable challenges. In Y. Zhang, L. Feng, & Y. Cai (Eds.), Blue book of Philippines: Annual report on development of Philippines (2021–2022) (pp. 91–109). Social Sciences Academic Press.
  • Cai, Y., & Wu, Z. (2022). Economic insights from 2020 to 2021: Economic recession and recovery in the Philippines amid pandemic. In Y. Zhang, W. Wang, L. Feng, & Y. Cai (Eds.), Blue book of Philippines: Annual report on development of Philippines (2020–2021) (pp. 49–75). Social Sciences Academic Press.
  • Cai, Y. (2020). Rethinking empowerment: Seeking justice, not just sustainability. In W. Leal Filho, A. M. Azul, L. Brandli, P. G. Özuyar, & T. Wall (Eds.), Sustainable cities and communities (pp. 546–555). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-95717-3_84
  • Cai, Y. (2019). Opportunities for all: Inclusive and equitable sustainable development. In W. Leal Filho, A. M. Azul, L. Brandli, P. G. Özuyar, & T. Wall (Eds.), Sustainable cities and communities (pp. 1–10). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71061-7_83-1
  • Thuon, T., & Cai, Y. (2019). Resistance for resilience: A reflexive exploration of Battambang, Cambodia. In A. G. Daniere & M. Garschagen (Eds.), Urban climate resilience in Southeast Asia (pp. 127–146). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-98968-6_7
Selected commentary
Selected Presentations

Invited talks

  • Cai, Y., & Yuen, B. (2026). Beyond access: Ageing in digitalising Singapore. Active Aging Consortium in Asia Pacific Webinar.
  • Cai, Y. (2024, December 11). Gender-responsive planning & policy in the age of digital transformation. School of Public Administration and Policy, Renmin University, Virtual.
  • Cai, Y. (2024, November 14). Harnessing transformative potentials of Southeast Asian urbanization. LuceSEA Webinar, Virtual.
  • Cai, Y. (2024, February 14). Emerging trends towards a resilient urban future. Resilient Cities Network Resilience Breakfast Roundtable, Singapore.
  • Cai, Y. (2023, December 2). Resilience of the Philippines: A diver’s perspective. The 5th Development Studies Forum on the Philippines, Virtual.
  • Cai, Y. (2023, July 3–5). Area study research methodology. The 3rd Tsinghua Area Studies Forum, Beijing, China.
  • Cai, Y. (2022, November 2). New faculty and recent graduate panel. International Students Flourishing in Planning Education in the U.S. and Canada, Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning (ACSP) Annual Conference, Virtual.
  • Cai, Y. (2022, April 7). Why building resilient cities is critical for Southeast Asia: Reflections from the field. Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Symposium, Guangzhou, China.
  • Cai, Y. (2021, December 26). Reflections on disaster management field research in Southeast Asia. The First Oceanwe International Symposium on Disaster Reduction and Humanitarian Response, Virtual.
  • Cai, Y. (2021, October 30). Nongovernmental climate governance in the Philippines. The 3rd Development Studies Forum on the Philippines, Virtual.
  • Cai, Y. (2021, September 11). Floods amid pandemic: Rethinking resilience in the face of multiple risks. The 10th Urban Management Forum, Virtual.

Conference papers

  • Cai, Y., Yuen, B., Nearing, C. (2025, May 1–2). Collaborative governance in urban regeneration: Comparative insights from Seoul, Shenzhen, Vancouver, and Vienna. International Conference on Collaborative Planning in China and Beyond, Utrecht, Netherlands.
  • Cai, Y. (2023, July 3–5). Resistance and resilience towards sustainability: Rethinking development and humanitarianism in Southeast Asia. The 3rd Tsinghua Area Studies Forum, Beijing, China.
  • Cai, Y. (2023, March 23–27). Invisibility, silence, and resistance for climate resilience in Southeast Asia. Association of American Geographers Annual Meeting, Denver, U.S.
  • Cai, Y. (2022, August 30–September 2). Community resilience building as mosaic: Everyday urban informality in Pantang, Guangzhou. Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) Annual International Conference 2022, Hybrid.
  • Cai, Y. (2022, July 5–6). Resilience from the perspective of international politics. Association of Political Science and International Studies Annual Conference, Beijing, Hybrid.
  • Cai, Y. (2022, May 16–17). Conviviality and informality: Everyday urban multiculture in Pantang, Guangzhou. Neighborhood Transformation in East Asian Cities International Symposium, Hybrid.
  • Cai, Y. (2021, December 24–26). Social capital for resilient entrepreneurship. Annual Conference of the Chinese Association for Public Administration, Zhuhai, China.
  • Cai, Y. (2021, December 18–19). Climate resilience and resistance in Myanmar: Transcripts from voiceless women. The 1st Workshop of Asian Young Geographers, Virtual.
  • Cai, Y. (2021, July 5–7). Community resilience through social entrepreneurship: Inclusive waste management in Myanmar. The 2nd Tsinghua Area Studies Forum, Virtual.
  • Cai, Y. (2021, June 3–5). Photovoice in the age of social media: Participation for urban climate resilience. The 11th Asian Conference on Asian Studies, Virtual.
  • Cai, Y. (2020, November 7). Visualizing vulnerability for inclusive community resilience. The 2nd Development Studies Forum on the Philippines, Guangzhou, China.
  • Cai, Y. (2020, September 24–25). Rethinking resilient humanitarianism in Southeast Asia. Annual Conference of the Asian Association for Public Administration, Virtual.
  • Cai, Y. (2020, June 30–July 3). Resilience in Southeast Asia amid pandemic. The 5th Young Scholars Forum on US–China Relations, Virtual.