City and Regional Planning PORTFOLIO
Andrea (Zixuan) He Illustrated
About Me
Hello, I’m Andrea, also known by my Chinese name, Zixuan. Originally from Beijing, China, I’ve spent over a decade studying and working in the U.S. As a passionate urbanist, designer, and artist, I focus on urban planning, design, and visual arts to explore the connection between urban environments and daily life.
In my planning projects, I have experience in transportation planning, including streetscape design and micromobility planning. My professional work also includes existing conditions analysis in both urban and regional contexts. My research examines the rapid urbanization of Asian cities and investigates how these transformations impact communities and reshape social dynamics.
Through my art, I share personal experiences of the places I have lived in and visited. Using visual media, I showcase the beauty of these locations while illustrating the dynamic and complex nature of urban environments, presenting them in meaningful and thought-provoking ways.
I hope this portfolio provides insight into my technical expertise, urban planning knowledge, and perspectives on city and regional development. To me, cities are more than just clusters of buildings and populations— they are vibrant, dynamic networks shaped by unique social and economic forces, serving as platforms for interaction and connection on countless levels.
Part 1 City and Regional Planning Projects
Urban spaces are more than just streets and buildings—they are living ecosystems where people connect, thrive, and innovate. This section showcases my projects that reimagine cityscapes and explore how thoughtful planning can foster sustainable and equitable communities.
1. Micromobility Demonstration Project
How
can pop-up bike lanes transform small urban communities like Asbury Park into safer, more accessible hubs for micromobility?
Background
Studio team at Rutgers University worked with Asbury Park Department of Transportation to explore micromobility and active transportation options and infrastructure as ways to encourage expanded use of and enhanced safety of non-motorist travel.
Goal
To encourage micromobility use in Asbury Park by improving the user safety and comfort
Objectives
Design and Install a safe pop-up bike lane
Obtain public feedback
Create recommendations
Methodology
Explored micromobility infrastructure options
Proposed bicycle and scooter lane desgin
Developed a survey for feed back
Contributed to research funded by the National Science Foundations (NSF)
About Micromobility
Small, low speed, lightweight, human or electric powered transportation devices
Fills in gaps in the transportation network
Replaces short car trips
Expands access for the low-income community
Click Here for the Project Story Map
Individual Role | Team of 11
Researched the use of bike lanes and micromobility. Contributed to the design of pop-up bike lanes and intersections. Created the logo, presentation layout, and charts for the project.
About Asbury Park
Total population: 15,188 (2020)
Size: 1.6 sq,miles
Median age: 37 (2019)
Median Household Income: $47,841
Percentage population without access to car: 20%
Percentage population that walks to work: 5.5%
Percentage population that bikes to work: 2.0%
Monmouth County New Jersey
Ocean Avenue Bike Lane Design
Asbury Avenue Bike Lane Design (towards Ocean Ave)
Cookman Ave and Asbury Ave Intersection Existing Conditions
Cookman Ave and Asbury Ave Intersection Alternative Design
Cookman Ave and Asbury Ave Intersection Design Proposals
Cookman Ave and Asbury Ave Intersection Design
Demonstration Materials
Material borrowed:
• Two field line striping machines
• Traffic cones
• Sidewalk chalk
• Measuring tape
• Corrugated plastic signs
Materials purchased:
• Bike lane stencil
• Temporary Chalk Spary
• Green:10 cans
• Yellow: 3 cans
• White: 10 cans
The total cost of materials purchased:$212.58
Installation Photos
Highlights of the Survey
Did you use the temporary bicycle & scooter lanes along Cookman and Asbury Avenues? (N = 69)
Do you want to see the bicycle & scooter lane become permanent? (N = 69)
Rate the safety of the bicycle and scooter lane on a scale from zero to 10. (N=58)
Respondent birth cohorts (aggregated from respondent birth years). (N = 63)
Highlight of the Roadway Design Recommendations
Highlight of the Education Recommendations
2. Imagine New Brunswick
In what ways can transforming George Street into a pedestrian-friendly space enhance Downtown New Brunswick’s identity, accessibility, and equity?
Background
In response to COVID-19, George Street in New Brunswick, NJ, was closed to vehicles in summer 2020 to support outdoor dining, gaining strong support from businesses and the community. As the city moves beyond the pandemic, our studio is researching and engaging with stakeholders to propose short- and long-term plans for its transformation into a vibrant, pedestrian-focused space.
Goal
Create a more identifiable, accessible, and equitable Downtown New Brunswick that blends the city’s historic past with a contemporary future focusing on academics, healthcare, and emerging businesses.
Click Here for the Project Story Map
Individual Role | Team of 10
Analyzed the site, reviewed comparable streets, conducted interviews, created maps and a partial street design.
Objective
1. Place-making
2. Community Engagement
3. Redesign George Street
Highlights of Demographic
• Population growth between 2010 and 2020 has plateaued.
• Residents living near George Street and within New Brunswick are significantly less affluent.
• Residents living in New Brunswick, including on and around George Street, are less likely to have a car.
• Over 50% Hispanic Population live in New Brunswick
Interview Key Takeaways
• Addressing Homeless Population
• More Public Space
• Street Activation with Events & Community Engagement
• Public Sanitation
• What to do During the Winter?
• Street Furniture
• Community Space/Maker space
• Signage
• Art Installations
• Need for Additional Businesses Including Retail
• Parking
• Downtown accessibility
Design Concepts
Public Spaces Planters
Color Parklets
George Street Recommendation 1 - Partial Street Design
Street renderings collaborated with my teammate Randy Bagley
Through Place Making, re-Imagine George Street as an active and vibrant hub for the city
Street renderings collaborated with my teammate Randy Bagley
Street renderings collaborated with my teammate Randy Bagley
3. Beijing New and Resilient Hutong Typology
How can the architectural legacy of Hutong neighborhoods be translated and transformed to inspire resilient urban design in the newer parts of Beijing?
Background
The disappearance of thousands of Hutong neighborhoods during Beijing’s urban development drew me in and raised important questions about how cities evolve. My undergraduate thesis focused on these unique communities, studying their historical significance alongside the city’s rapid urbanization. I explored the architecture of Hutong neighborhoods and courtyard houses, re-imagining their spatial designs for a modern audience. This project became deeply meaningful to me—it sparked a fascination with urban planning that ultimately led me to pursue it further in graduate school.
Insight
Hutongs represent the essence of Old Beijing culture, embodying collective memory and nostalgia. Nostalgia often idealizes the past, providing a shared foundation that fosters group cohesion (Abramson, 1998, p.47).¹ For residents of Old Beijing, the Hutongs are more than physical spaces; they are homes that offer a sense of security and belonging, enriched by the interpersonal relationships built over years. When a Hutong is demolished, these bonds are disrupted, forcing residents to adapt to new environments and lifestyles, often at the cost of their cherished way of life.
A Courtyard house
Courtyard houses + Alleys = Hutong neighborhoods
Source:Michael Meyerr Demolition during the city's development
Study Diagrams
Negative and positive spaces
Transitional spaces
Negative and positive spaces
Transitional spaces
Courtyard house, type 4
Housing Typology Transformation
Map
Residential
A New and Resilient Hutong Typology
4. Village Of Fairport Zoning Update Existing Condition Maps
Click here for the current project status
Individual Role | Professional Works Using ArcGIS, I created detailed maps to analyze the Village of Fairport’s existing conditions. This effort was part of the groundwork for updating the zoning regulations, ensuring the project was informed by accurate and comprehensive spatial data.
Existing Zoning
Family Type
5. Chemung County Comprehensive Plan Information Design
Click here for the current project status
Individual Role | Professional Works
These boards showcase the full range of my expertise in data analysis, mapping, and visual storytelling. For the Chemung County Comprehensive Plan projects, I took the lead in gathering inventory data on key areas like land use, agriculture, natural resources, and transportation. I developed detailed maps for each inventory section and designed these boards to facilitate discussions at public meetings, ensuring the information was both accessible and engaging.
Part 2 Writing and Research
Planners must effectively communicate with both the public and government while understanding the link between a place’s past and present to shape its future. This section features an active transportation memo and research exploring the intricate dynamics of urbanization, with a focus on Taipei’s Treasure Hill.
6. New Jersey Active Transportation and Health Benefits Memo
Purpose:
This memo aims to provide an overview of the benefits of active transportation projects and encourage the State of New Jersey to create funding programs as an opportunity to advocate active commuting in an effort to improve people’s health. This memo includes a brief summary of the importance of supporting active transportation, followed by an introduction, its benefits, existing conditions and challenges, and recommendations for the next step.
Take-Home Message:
Active transportation reduces air pollution and enhances the quality of life by encouraging physical activity and reducing car-related accidents. But, outdated vehicle-centric street design and regulations could put people at risk. Therefore, support for active transportation projects is essential, and the results could help plan for a more sustainable and healthier living environment for people in New Jersey.
Main Content:
Definition
Active transportation is the term used to describe moving people or goods in ways that rely on human physical activity rather than motorized vehicles. The forms of active transportation include cycling, walking, skateboarding, and scootering.
Benefits
• Physical Activity
The U.S. Department of Transportation reports that one in four Americans doesn’t engage in physical activity outside of work.1 The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) statistics show that roughly 23 percent of U.S. children don’t engage in 60 minutes or more of exercise per week, and 44 percent do not participate in gym classes in an average school week.2 The lack of physical activity can lead to health problems such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, brain damage, and diabetes.3Active transportation keeps people physically active. When people ride their bike or walk to work instead of driving, shopping, or other services, people increase their exercise, thereby improving their physical well-being and reducing mental stress.
• Accessibility
Transportation affects various aspects of our daily lives, including employment, staying in touch with family, and accessing healthcare. However, the National Household Travel Survey estimates 25.5 million Americans have mobility issues.4Active transportation could make it easier for people who cannot drive to travel independently. In particular, children (particularly those who commute to and from school), seniors, people with disabilities, and those with low incomes would benefit the most. People’s quality of life will improve if they have greater access to transport and services.
• A livable Neighborhood
The CDC found lots of places in America where walking and bicycling are considered risky due to traffic congestion, narrow sidewalks, unsafe intersections, and lack of cycling infrastructure.5 Active transportation could be encouraged by improving street safety issues in neighborhoods. When residents are out on a walk or bike, they interact more with their neighbors. The improvement of the neighborhood offers opportunities for people to engage with each other and create a positive effect on people’s mental health. By having more pedestrians and cyclists watching the streets, streets become safer.
• Environmental Health
Automobile pollution damages human health and contributes to climate change. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, the average automobile emits 4.6 tons of greenhouse gases annually.6Active transportation reduces air pollution from cars. Compared with cars, bicycles occupy 8% of the available space, reducing the need for large roads and parking lots.7 When cycling and walking increase, infrastructure can be used as parks to add green space to neighborhoods. Air and water pollution could be reduced by reducing highway construction or maintenance.
[Excerpt: Full paper available upon request.]
Presentation
7. Interpretation of the Taipei Treasure Hill Informal Settlement
How can informal settlements like Treasure Hill reveal the potential of self-built spaces while shaping the future of community planning and engagement?
Background
Treasure Hill was an informal settlement in Taipei, Taiwan. I am interested in Treasure Hill’s self-built housing and autoconstructed spaces because I believe they represent a unique method of space production in Taipei City even though I have not had a chance to visit the city or Taiwan in person.
Study Method
The study and analysis process involves reviewing a large number of images, maps, and archival documents related to Treasure Hill; selecting photos for further analysis; reviewing the planning literature on urbanization and informal housing as well as diagramming studies based on the selected images; and, finally, analyzing through an interpretive lens.
Research
Particularly, my curiosity lies in the social relationships between autoconstructed space, local residents, and the city at large in Treasure Hill, and how these relationships can contribute to our understanding of homspace making from the residents’ own practice design.
Notes
1. All photographs are provided by Dr. Mi Shih (Planning and Public Policy, Rutgers University).
2. Content and materials presented in this portfolio are drawn from the Treasure Hill case study discussed in International Urbanization and Housing Issues course in fall 2020 (Planning and Public Policy, Rutgers University).
3. Do not cite or circulate without author’s permission.
Treasure Hill Development Timeline
Example 1: Unintended public space
This picture shows another small public gathering space near "the square." Beyond the gathering space, we see an alley formed by buildings on both sides. Five men crowd together, playing chess or mah-jong, as a man walks by. The vegetables are left to dry on the ground. There are two cars parked on the side of the small public space between them. This gathering space is informal, transient, and improvisational, with just a few chairs and a table forming the space.
In A Pattern Language, Alexander states that “Modern society’s streets are more likely for people to pass through rather than stay in” (1977, p. 590).¹ However, in Treasure Hill we see residents actually create nodes so that they turn pathways into gathering places. There are no structures built to house the gathering space, rather it is almost positioned in the middle of an alley. This gathering space both reflects and fosters people’s close relationships in Treasure Hill: residents don’t have a professionally designed space for their social activities, so they create one themselves.
[Excerpt: Full paper available upon request.]
Source: Dr. Mi Shih
Example 2: Staircases as transitional spaces for community engagement
This photo shows how residents use their stoop as a space for social interaction. Notice that the stoop is built by stones collected from the river. The house was built mainly from concrete on the upper part, with some stones on the lower part. A man and a woman sit on the stoop talking to each other, and a man stands nearby, probably talking to his neighbors. The height of the stoop allows its users to keep their eyes on the alley. There is a bike at the edge of the house standing against the wall. There is a left arrow symbol drawn on the wall in red, giving directions to residents.
Diagram 1 shows the spatial relationships between the staircase, residents, and the community from the top looking downward. Located between the private house and the public alley, the attached stairs serve as a transitional space. Additionally, the stairs help create an intimate atmosphere in a regular alley. On the stairs, the residents have a good view of their surroundings and the opportunity to engage with people passing by.
Source: Dr. Mi Shih
Source: Dr. Mi Shih Diagram 2
Research Findings
Based on photographic research, diagrams, and review of scholarly work, I then try to understand the social meanings and significance of Treasure Hill’s autoconstructed spaces through an interpretative lens.
1) We find that residents are agents of heterogeneous urban spaces. The self-built community in Treasure Hill possesses an internal order even though it may appear to be messy to outsiders, and it is a place that allows marginalized groups of people to live and stay afloat in an unevenly developed city.
2) These self-built houses here are not just shelters but homes for many residents. John Turner’s concept of housing as a verb truly resonates here — the home building process matters.
3) Residents don't have professional design or construction backgrounds, but they take care of their community and have developed their design patterns to create meaningful spaces.
Treasure Hill in the past, Source: Dr. Mi Shih
A Look Towards the Future
Today, Treasure Hill is considered an artist village, and artists from the city and the world reside there to create artworks. People interpret art differently. I regard art as a form of freedom, a way to break away from the established rules, and a tool to abstract and symbolize facts. Ironically, Treasure Hill was once a squatter settlement with marginalized people, but now it serves as a creative hub for artists. Artists are allowed to be creative and utilize the spaces in Treasure Hill built by residents, but the residents' community is fading away.
I hope the findings regarding laypeople's design in Treasure Hill might help people develop alternatives to defining informal settlements and future community planning and engagement.
Today’s Treasure Hill, Source: Google Map
Part 3 Graphic Design and Art
I started my artistic journey at six. For me, art connects observation and emotion, capturing the essence of moments and places. I aim to illustrate not just beauty but also the dynamic and complex nature of urban environments.
8. Negotiating Social Futures Flyer (Cover)
This flyer is for the Negotiating Social Futures Seminar Series and highlights six original illustrations I created. These pieces are my attempt to capture the vibrant, ever-shifting nature of urban environments. This project is deeply meaningful to me because it weaves together my love for art and graphic design with my enthusiasm for urban planning. It’s more than just a creative venture; it’s also an effort to visually support the conference’s goals and represent my institution in a meaningful way.
9. New Brunswick Night
This piece came from a quiet moment viewing the night outside my apartment at Rutgers University. The way the lights from buildings and street lamps mixed with the dark of the neighborhood felt magical. The colors blended in a way that made everything look calm yet full of life. I wanted to capture that feeling in my artwork, inspired by how the night and the lights seemed to come together.
10. A Transition of the Transit
This piece came to life during a moment at Boston’s Fenway Station. Standing there, I was drawn to the striking contrast between the two views from the platform. One direction of the Green Line led straight into the city, pulling you through the framed threshold of a building. The other direction was a journey into the suburbs, the track disappearing through an archway of trees. It felt like a choice between two worlds—one path taking you to the heart of the bustling city, the other leading to the quiet, expansive suburbs.
