Qian Chen is currently a PhD candidate in Humanities, working under Dr. Daisy Tam’s supervision. She is interested in the interactions between people and urban public spaces, especially how urban public spaces could be active and important venues for mundane everyday practices and how power relations might be intertwined within.

Her PhD research examines Guangzhou’s urban renewal, attempting to address urban transformations at the micro level of everyday life. She is particularly interested in the idea of ‘convenience’ since, in recent years, the government has pushed for the development of more convenient urban lifestyle. She has been conducting ethnography on 7-ELEVEn convenience stores and traditional local stores (士多店) in Guangzhou to examine how people perceive convenience in these two very different urban landscapes, and to further find out how the transition of cityscape have influences on neighborhood life and interpersonal relationships.

Her research interests include urban studies and cultural studies. She can be contacted at irischen_@life.hkbu.edu.hk.