Dr. Ling Zhang
Dr. Ling Zhang
Associate Professor
Burdick Hall 318D
(501) 450-5638
Areas of Interest:
- Retail Geography, Economic Geography, Regional Development
- Ethnic Geography, Asian American Ethnic Businesses
- Spatial Analysis, Spatial Modeling, Land Use and Land Cover Change
- Urban Geography, Urban Growth, Urban Sustainability
Courses:
- Human Geography
- Principles of Geography
- Earth Systems Science
- Geography of Europe and Russia
- Geography of China and East Asia
- Urban Geography
Education:
Ph.D. University of Utah
M.S. Beijing Normal University
B.S. East China Normal University
Publications:
- Hardaker, S. and L. Zhang. (2023) China’s Transformation into a Consumer Society (Chinas Wandel zur Konsumgesellschaft, in German). In S. Hardaker and P. Dannenberg (Eds.) China: Geographies of a Global Power (China: Geographien einer Weltmacht, in German). pp. 177-188. Springer.
- Ketchpaw, A. R., Li, D., Khan, S. N., Jiang, Y., Li, Y., and Zhang, L. (2022). Using
structure location data to map the wildland–urban interface in Montana, USA. Fire, 5(5),129. - Zhang, L., and S. Hardaker. (2021). Divestment of European grocery retailers from China. Geografiska Annaler: Series B, Human Geography 103(2): 152-167.
- Hardaker, S., and L. Zhang. (2021). Testing the water: Prior-online market entry in China. International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management 49(7): 1111-1129.
- Wei, Y. H.D., Y. Wu, F.H. Liao, and L. Zhang. (2020). Regional inequality, spatial polarization and place mobility in provincial China: A case study of Jiangsu province. Applied Geography, 124, 102296.
- Wei, Y. H.D., J. Lin and L. Zhang (2019). E-commerce, Taobao villages and regional development in China. Geographic Review, 110(3): 380-405.
- Zhang, L. and Y. H.D. Wei. (2017). Spatial inequality and dynamics of foreign hypermarket retailers in China. Geographical Research, 55(4): 395-411.
- Zhang, L., Y. H.D. Wei and R. Meng. (2017). Spatiotemporal dynamics and spatial determinants of urban
growth in Suzhou, China. Sustainability, 9(3), 393. - Zhang, L. and Y. H.D. Wei. (2015). Foreign hypermarket retailers in China: spatial penetration, local embeddedness and structural paradox. Geographic Review, 105(4): 528-550.
Presentations:
- Zhang, L. and Y. Wu. (2025). Spatial Pattern of Chinese Ethnic Businesses in the Tri-State in the Early 1950s. 2025 Rural Chinatowns and Hidden Sites: Chinese American History in the Deep South & Midwest Conference. Memphis, TN. October 15, 2025.
- Zhang, L. (2025). Poverty in the Lower Mississippi River Delta: A County-Level Analysis from 1990 to 2020. Annual Meeting of AAG (Association of American Geographers). Detroit, MI. March 27, 2025.
- Zhang, L. (2024). Walmart in China: Past, Present and Future. Annual Meeting of AAG (Association of American Geographers). Online. April 20, 2024.
- Zhang, L. (2023). Spatial and Temporal Patterns of Poverty: A County-Level Analysis of the United States, 1990-2020. 2023 Applied Geography Conference. Pittsburgh, PA. October 26, 2023.
- Zhang, L. (2023). International Retailers in China at 30 Years. Annual Meeting of AAG (Association of American Geographers). Denver, CO. March 25, 2023.
- Zhang, L. (2021). Understanding the Relationship between Food Retail Environments and Childhood Obesity: The Effects of Fast-food Restaurants in Arkansas. Annual Meeting of AAG (Association of American Geographers). Online. April 10, 2021.
- Zhang, L. (2020). Costco Goes to China: Hybrid Market Entry Strategies of An International Retailer. 2020 Applied Geography Conference. Online. October 20, 2020.
- Zhang, L. (2019). Suburbanization of Retailing in Shanghai: The Case of Hypermarket Sector. Annual Meeting of AAG, Washington, D.C., April 4 – 8, 2019.