Harvey NEO | Professorial Research Fellow

Biography

Harvey’s research focuses on urban futures, citizen urban science and policy-making as well as nature-society interactions. He has won multiple awards in his research and teaching in the areas of urban sustainable development, environmental geography and social theory when he was Associate Professor of Geography at the National University of Singapore. Harvey is the Southeast Asian editor of the journal "Human Geography" (Sage Publications) and "Frontiers in Sustainable Cities: Cities in the Global South". He sits on the International Advisory Boards of "Geographies of Justice and Social Transformation Book Series" (published by University of Georgia Press), "Geoforum" and "Progress in Environmental Geography". He is one of seven appointed to the Housing and Development Board Research Advisory Panel which is the consulting body for research conducted by Housing Development Board, Singapore. He is concurrently Director of the Master in Urban Science, Policy and Planning programme at Singapore University of Technology and Design.

At the LKYCIC, Harvey leads the Southeast Asian focused "Cities and Urban Science" programme which looks at how a citizen-centric urban science can be practised, and sustained in tandem with “big data”. This is being studied in Ho Chi Minh City, Jakarta, Manila and Phnom Penh on the interlinked topics of walkability and electric vehicular policies. Harvey is Programme Lead of the "Urban Environmental Sustainability" programme at the LKYCIC where he is the Principal Investigator of the Social Sciences Research Council funded project on human adaptations to urban heat. At the Centre, he also co-leads, with Dr Samuel Chng, the Tote Board supported "Future Ready Society Knowledge Partnership and Impact Fund" (FRS). The FRS is a first-of-its kind programme in Singapore that bridges research & practice and fosters meaningful partnerships of the 3P+ (People, Public, Private + Academia) sectors to strengthen society's future readiness through novel solutioning.

Education

• PhD, Graduate School of Geography, Clark University, Massachusetts, USA (2007)
• MSc, Geography, National University of Singapore (2002)
• BA (Hons), National University of Singapore

Publications

• Du, Yuting., Chng, Samuel., & Neo, Harvey. (2025). Cross-Sector Collaboration in Urban Mobility: A “Public-Private-People Plus Academia” (3P+) Partnership Model for Sustainable Mobility Governance. International Journal on Smart and Sustainable Cities, 2,2471003. https://doi.org/10.1142/S297242602471003X
• Du, Yuting., Chng, Samuel., Suhaila, Zainal Shah. & Neo, Harvey. (2025). Looking Back at 25 Years of Participatory Budgeting in Asia: A Systematic Review of Trends, Challenges, and Best Practices. International Journal of Public Administration. doi: 10.1080/01900692.2025.2485247
• Chng, Samuel., Neo, Harvey., Tan, Ariel. & Li, Bayi. (2023). The role of labour unions in a just transition: Insights from the workers. Singapore Labour Journal, 2, 39-53. doi: 10.1142/S2811031523000141
• Huang, Bernice., Choi, Yunkyung., Chng, Samuel., & Neo, Harvey. (2023). Examining Policy Strategies for Electrifying Transportation in ASEAN: A STEELUP Framework Evaluation. Sustainability, 15(22), 15708. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su152215708
• Chng, Samuel., Neo, Harvey., Tan, Ariel. & Li, Bayi. (2023). Trends, Jobs and Skills in Sustainability. Report for National Trade Union Congress.
• Benita, Francisco., Fuentes, Luis., Guzman, Luis Angel., Martinez, Rafael., Munoz, Juan Carlos., Neo, Harvey., Rodriguez-Leiva, Sebastian., & Soza-Parra, Jaime. (2022). Comparing COVID-19 in the antipodes: Insights from pandemic containment strategies on both sides of the Pacific. Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives, (15), 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trip.2022.100660
• Neo, Harvey. (2020). The Post-politics of Environmentalism in Singapore in Jobin, P (Ed.) Environmental Movement in Southeast Asia. ISEAS, Singapore.
• Neo, Harvey. (2019). Chongqing: Propelling the “Smart” Wave in Southwest China in Bris, Arturo., Cabolis, Christos., Chan, Heng Chee & Lanvin, Bruno (Eds.) Sixteen Shades of Smart: How Cities Can Shape Their Own Future. IMD International.
• Neo, Harvey. (2019). Seoul: Citizen-centric Seoul Grows from Strength to Strength in Bris, Arturo., Cabolis, Christos., Chan, Heng Chee & Lanvin, Bruno (Eds), Sixteen Shades of Smart: How Cities Can Shape Their Own Future, IMD International.
• Pow, Choon-Piew., & Neo, Harvey. (2018). Environmental Governance and Citizenship Participation in Nanjing. Habitat International.
• Neo, Harvey. & Emel, Jody. (2017). Geographies of Meat: Politics, Economy and Culture, Critical Food Studies Series. Taylor and Francis.
• Neo, Harvey. & Chua, Chengying. (2017). Beyond inclusion and exclusion: Community gardens as spaces of responsibility. Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 107(3), 666-681.
• Lin, Heng Lye., Neo, Harvey., Kondepudi, Sekhar., Yew, Wen-Shen., & Sng, Judy Gek-Khim. (2017). (Eds) Sustainability Matters: Environmental Management in the Anthropocene. World Scientific, Singapore.
• Neo, Harvey. (2016). Rethinking ethical food consumption through meaningful substitution: the contradictions and challenges of vegetarianism advocacy. Geographical Journal. DOI: 10.1111/geoj.12130.
• Neo, Harvey. & Pow, Choon-Piew. (2015). The weight of small cities: Development and the rural-urban nexus in Jinghong, Southwest China. The Professional Geographer, 67(4), 555-563.
• Neo, Harvey. & Pow, Choon-Piew. (2015). Eco-cities and the promise of socio-environmental justice, in R. Bryant (Ed.) Handbook of Political Ecology, Edward Elgar, pp. 401-416.
• Neo, Harvey. & Pow, Choon-Piew. (2015). Mobilizing green urbanism and the urban sustainability fix in China. Area, 47(2), 132-140.
• Neo, Harvey. & Pow, Choon-Piew. (2013). Seeing red over green: contesting urban sustainabilities in China. Urban Studies, 50(11), 2256-2274.
• Yeo, Jun-Han., & Neo, Harvey. (2010). Monkey business: Human-animal conflicts in urban Singapore. Social and Cultural Geography, 11(7), 681-700.
• Neo, Harvey. (2010). Unravelling the post-politics of golf course provision in Singapore. Sport and Social Issues (Special issue on golf and society), 34(3), 272-287.
• Neo, Harvey. (2010). The potential of large-scale urban waste recycling: a case study of the National Recycling Programme in Singapore. Society and Natural Resources, 23(9), 872-887.

Conference Presentations/Proceedings

• Liu, Xiaohan., Ansel, Nathan., Wong, Sarah., Niang, Khant Min., Chng, Samuel., Neo, Harvey. (2025, Aug). Synthesising Travel Demand in Data-Scarce Cities: A Case Study in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Presented at the 7^th Bridging Transport Researchers (BTR) Online Conference.
• Chng, Samuel., Chan, Sarah Hian May., Li, Yunjing., Sim, Joshua De-Wei., Borzino, Natalia., Tay, Yi Xuan., Naing, Khant Min., Tan, Gerald., Tan, Pearl., Zheng, Kai., Neo, Harvey., Lee, Jason., Joerin, Jonas. (2025, Jul). 360: A Transdiciplinary Study of Disconnects Between Climate Change Beliefs and Urban Heat Adaptation. Paper presented at the Asian Association of Social Psychology 2025 Conference, Malaysia.
• Chng, Samuel., Chan, Sarah Hian May., Borzino, Natalia., Li, Yunjing., Sim, Joshua Dw-Wei., Zheng, Kai., Neo, Harvey., Lee, Jason., Joerin, Jonas. (2025, Jun). Leveraging the Urban Heat Discourse to Deepen Understanding, Spark Dialogue, and Foster Climate Resilient Citizenry. Paper presented at the International Conference on Environmental Psychology 2025, Vilnius, Lithuania.
• Chan, Sarah Hian May., Chng, Samuel., Borzino, Natalia., Tay, Yi Xuan., Naing, Khant Min., Zheng, Kai., Neo, Harvey., Lee, Jason., Joerin, Jonas. (2025, Jun). Cool Homes, Hot Beds: Dilemmas Surrounding Heat Adaptation and Climate Action in the Urban Tropics. Oral presentation at the International Conference on Environmental Psychology, Vilnius, Lithuania, 15-18 June 2025
• Chan, Sarah Hian May., Tay, Yi Xuan., Chng, Samuel, Neo, Harvey., Huei, Leo Chen. (2025, May). Who Bites? Examining Consumer Typologies in Attitudes towards 3D-food Printing. Oral presentation at the Consumer Acceptance of Future Foods in Asia-Pacific 2025 (A*Star Institute of High-Performance Computing), Singapore, 22 May 2025
• Chan, Sarah Hian May., Chng, Samuel., Borzino, Natalia., Sim, Joshua., Li, Yunjing (Jennifer)., Du, Yuting., Tay, Yi Xuan., Naing, Khant Min., Tan, Gerald., Tan, Pearl., Zheng, Kai., Neo, Harvey., Lee, Jason., Joerin, Jonas. (2025, Jan). Living with Heat: Adaptation and Vulnerability in Urban Households. Poster presented at the Psychological Science and Well-being Conference 2025, James Cook University, Singapore,  14-15 Jan 2025
• Chan, Sarah Hian May., Borzino, Natalia., Tay, Yi Xuan., Naing, Khant Min., Chng, Samuel., Zheng, Kai., Neo, Harvey., Joerin, Jonas. (2025, Jan). The Paradox of Aircon Reliance in The Urban Tropics. Poster presented at the First Global Heat Health Information Network (GHHIN) Southeast Asia Heat Health Forum, Singapore,  7-10 Jan 2025
• Suhaila, Zainal. Shah., Chng, Samuel., Chan, Sarah., & Neo, Harvey. (2024, May). Exploring Psychosocial Differences Underlying Divergent Public Priorities across Societal, Technological, Economical, Environmental, and Political Issues. Paper presented at the Association of Psychological Science 2024 Annual Convention.
• Chan, Sarah., Chng, Samuel. & Neo, Harvey. (2024, May). A Comprehensive Investigation of Psycho-Social Barriers to Environmentally Sustainable Heat Coping Action in the Tropics. Paper presented at the Association of Psychological Science 2024 Annual Convention.