Urban Studies Program laments loss of adjunct professor Qiyan Wu

The SFU Urban Studies Program was sad to learn of the passing of Qiyan Wu, one of our adjunct professors. Professor Anthony Perl worked closely with Qiyan Wu on research projects involving their shared interest in the impact of high-speed trains on Chinese cities. He writes:

My colleagues and I at the Simon Fraser University Urban Studies Program were deeply saddened to learn of Professor Wu’s death on April 24, 2020. We offer our sincere condolences to all those who knew Qiyan Wu.

At Simon Fraser University, we were privileged to count professor Wu as a colleague in his role as an adjunct professor of Urban Studies. He brought us original and insightful scholarship, and I was fortunate to undertake a research collaboration which produced new insights into the effects of high-speed trains on China’s cities that was published in the Transportation Research Record. He shared his unparalleled expertise in the urban impacts of Chinese “studentification” in cities like Vancouver, a term that he had created to capture spatial and social dynamics that have been unfolding in the 21st century. Professor Wu was the leading researcher on this important topic, and explained it to a wide audience through giving interviews to Vancouver’s news media, conducting lectures to our students, and holding meetings with SFU faculty.

We will miss Qiyan’s presence in our community and his generosity in taking time to engage with our students and faculty. His thought will live on through the many people who learned from his ideas. To recognize his contribution to our program’s knowledge about cities, we will retain professor Wu’s profile among our adjunct faculty listing throughout 2020, both mourning his death while remembering his insights.