Hello everyone! My name is Congping Li, and I am a PhD Candidate in the Department of Geography and Planning at the University of Toronto. I’m excited to introduce myself to the ECCE community and the research projects I have been working on.

My academic journey began in Tourism Management and Planning, where I completed my Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees at Sun Yat-sen University. It was during my earlier research that I first recognized the profound impact that physical environments and leisure facilities have on the mental health of urban residents. Exploring these themes required me to dive into spatial analysis, utilizing tools such as cognitive mapping and cartography to visualize the relationship between people and places. This deepened my interest in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) as an essential way to make sense of complex human-environment interactions.

Currently, one of my doctoral projects investigates the spatiotemporal dynamics of urban amenity accessibility, particularly how these distributions have shifted pre- and post-COVID-19, and their lagged associations with long-term mental well-being. GIS techniques are at the very core of the project. I use GIS-based spatial modelling, often paired with Python, to extract and analyze quantifiable urban environmental features and how these features are associated with spatial disparities of amenity distribution and mental health inequities from a broader socioeconomic perspective. For me, GIS is more than just mapping; it is an essential framework for turning massive, multi-dimensional spatial datasets into interpretable insights that can guide healthier, evidence-based urban planning.

Beyond research, I am passionate about empowering others to use these tools. I actively serve as a Teaching Assistant for courses including “Geographic Information Systems” and “GIS and Population Health” at the University of Toronto Mississauga. I am glad to be a part of the ECCE community and look forward to connecting with fellow spatial analysts who are dedicated to using GIS to build better, more resilient cities.