Sufeng (Sophia) Xiao

Sufeng (Sophia) Xiao (肖粟豐) is a Doctor of Design candidate at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. Her dissertation develops the concept of “curated rurbanity” through ethnographically informed research in Zhejiang. Her project examines how digital platforms, rural institutions, and state agencies jointly produce spatial forms that challenge conventional distinctions between the urban and the rural, with particular attention to governance, temporality, and socio-ecological relations. 

In other work, Xiao has collaborated with nonprofit and civic organizations in China, Thailand, and the U.S. on community-centered design research, co-design initiatives, writing, and public exhibitions. 

Research interests: Rural-urban transformation in China; digital platforms and rural governance; land and commons; and co-design and participatory planning.