Liu CAO 曹流 is an urban cultural geographer with interests in the everyday life of cities, urban consumption, and cities and social changes. She works at the intersection of urban studies and cultural geography to understand the urban. She is particularly interested in urban consumption in China by looking at how new urban spaces are structured and transformed through peoples consumption practices, and the major theme running through her work is to use empirical research from China to develop conversations with existing urban scholarship that is grounded from the West.

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Current research:

I am now focusing on the intersection between consumption and cultural economy to understand the place. Using China as the site for new knowledge production, I explore how culture can work as the critical lens not only to understand the urban space but also how it can be used for new knowledge production.My work is centred on contemporary China. Through in-depth, empirical research, I aim to contribute new perspectives to urban studies, broadening conversations that have historically been grounded in the West. 

If you are unable to access any of my publications, please email me directly for a full-text version. 

Assistant Professor, Xian Jiaotong-Liverpool University, 2022-Current

Postdoctoral Researcher, Sun Yat-sen University, 2020-2022

• Urban Consumption
• Cities and Social Changes
• Urban Cultures
• Everyday Life 

2024, Best paper award, 5th National Economic Geography Conference, Nanjing, China

2022, Overseas Postdoctoral Talents Fund, Guangdong Province, China

2018, Student Travel Award, Urban Geography Research Group, American Association of Geographers