Ph.D. Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, Germany
M.S. Urban and Regional Planning/Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences

Office: B-4-206 Mackinac Hall
Phone: (616) 331-3068
Email: [email protected]. Gang's LinkedIn profile

Areas of Interest: Geographic Information Science (GIS), spatial analysis, location analytics, urban and economic geography, retail and food environments, metropolitan spatial structure, U.S. urbanization, China, and globalization

Representative Publications:

• Xu, G. 2026. Islands in an Obesogenic Ocean: A Multiscale Spatial Analysis of School Neighborhood Food Environments in Michigan. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 23(7): 835. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph23070835.
• Kovaly, B., King, A., Hodson, E., Sun, W., Xu, G., and Fateye, B. 2026 (in press). Spatial analysis ofantibiotic prescription rates in a West Michigan health system. Michigan Academician.
• Xu, G., Wang, D., and Yan, L. 2024. Empirical Studies of World City Networks: Progress,Challenges and Directions for Future Research. Urban Planning International 39(5): 52–60.https://doi.org/10.19830/j.upi.2022.255.
• Xu, G., Wang, D., Yan, L., and Shen, Z. 2024. World City Networks: Theories, Methodology, andResearch Topics. Progress in Geography 43(1): 179–189.https://doi.org/10.18306/dlkxjz.2024.01.013.
• Litvin, S., Xu, G., Ferguson, A., and Smith, W. 2013. Too Attractive for Its Own Good? South ofBroad, Second/Vacation-Homes and Resident Attitudes. Tourism Management Perspectives 7:89–98.
• Sun, W., Liang, S., Xu, G., Fang, H., and Dickinson, R. 2008. Mapping Plant Functional Types fromMODIS Data Using Multisource Evidential Reasoning. Remote Sensing of Environment 112(3):1010–1024.
• Xu, G., and Wang, R. 2007. The Effect of Foreign Direct Investment on Domestic CapitalFormation, Trade, and Economic Growth in a Transition Economy: Evidence from China. GlobalEconomy Journal 7(2): 1–21.
• Xu, G. 2006. Tourism. In China: Geography and Economy, edited by B. Staiger, S. Friedrich, andH. Schuette, 161–163. Darmstadt: WBG (Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft).
• Sun, W., Xu, G., Gong, P., and Liang, S. 2006. Fractal Analysis of Remote Sensing Images: AReview of Methods and Applications. International Journal of Remote Sensing 27(22):4963–4990.
• Litvin, S., Xu, G., and Kang, S. 2004. Spousal Vacation-Buying Decision Making—Revisited acrossTime and Place. Journal of Travel Research 43(2): 193–198.
• Sun, W., Heidt, V., Gong, P., and Xu, G. 2003. Information Fusion for Rural Landuse Classification Using High Resolution Satellite Imagery. IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing 41(4): 883–890.
• Xu, G. 2003. China in the Pacific Rim: Trade and Investment Links. In The Changing China: AGeographic Appraisal, edited by C. Hsieh and M. Lu, 173–194. Boulder: Westview Press.
• Xu, G., and Kruse, C. 2003. Economic Impact of Tourism in China. In Tourism in China, edited by A. Lew and L. Yu, 83–101. New York: Haworth Press.
• Xu, G., and Kruse, C. 2001. Tourismus als Wirtschaftsfaktor in China. Geographische Rundschau53(10): 22–27.
• Xu, G. 1999. Tourism and Local Economic Development in China. Richmond, Surrey: RoutledgeCurzon Press. 244 pp.
• Xu, G. 1999. Socio-Economic Impacts of Domestic Tourism in China: Case Studies in Guilin, Suzhou and Beidaihe. Tourism Geographies 1(2): 204–218.
• Xu, G. 1993. Defining a Port's Hinterland: A Network and Cost-Minimization Approach. In Regional Development of the Changjiang Delta Area, edited by X. Yu and C. Wu, 131–138.Beijing: Science Press.
• Xu, G. 1990. The Functions, Patterns, and Development of the Lower Changjiang River Port Systems in Jiangsu Province. Acta Geographica Sinica 45(3): 275–283.