During her two-year research on livability in Hong Kong, LIU Mingzhen found that objective data and residents’ perceptions often tell different stories. With Professor Zhu’s guidance, she developed a geospatial framework and compared objective indices with survey-based subjective assessments. Integrating diverse datasets and managing time were major challenges, but she overcame them with systematic planning and technical innovation. PolyU’s support and research funding enabled her to collect valuable data and present her findings internationally. This experience strengthened her skills in spatial analysis, survey design, and academic writing. Most importantly, Mingzhen learned that urban research should not only focus on data, but also consider the voices and experiences of the people who live in the city.
