Xiaoxia Dong

Xiaoxia (Summer) Dong is an Assistant Professor in the Department of City & Regional Planning at the Stuart Weitzman School of Design, University of Pennsylvania. Her research focuses on emerging transportation technologies such as automated vehicles, ride-hailing services, and their impacts on urban mobility systems. She also investigates pedestrian and bicyclist safety, aviation policy, and youth driver licensing barriers.

Education:

• B.A. in Urban Planning, University of Utah
• M.C.P. in City Planning, University of Pennsylvania
• Ph.D. in City Planning, University of Pennsylvania
• Postdoctoral Fellow, Johns Hopkins University

Her research explores how new transportation services reshape urban environments and safety outcomes. Notable areas include analyzing TNC (Transportation Network Company) effects on transit ridership, evaluating driver training accessibility in 'deserts,' and assessing pedestrian behavior around autonomous vehicles. She employs mixed-methods approaches combining spatial analysis, survey data, and policy evaluation.

Publications highlight trends like declining bus ridership linked to service changes, post-pandemic recovery of airports, and socioeconomic barriers to young driver licensure. Her work bridges academic research with practical policy recommendations for equitable urban mobility systems.

Teaching includes courses on quantitative planning methods (CPLN 5010, 5050) and studio-based planning projects (CPLN 6000). Research labs focus on transportation equity and emerging technologies' societal impacts. Current projects investigate airport mobility dynamics and the future of driver education systems.