JUE MA
majue@csis.u-tokyo.ac.jp | https://jue-ma.com/
Last updated 2026-7
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Urban Planning Support Tool, Urban Simulation, Urban Digital Twin, Citizen Participation, Compact City Policy, Demographic Change
EDUCATION
Ph. D. 2020–2023
Department of Civil Engineering, Human Centered Urban Informatics
The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
Thesis: Development of A Web-based Simulation Tool for Supporting Participatory Regional Planning
Supervisor: Yoshihide Sekimoto
Master 2017–2020
Environmental Science and Landscape Architecture
Chiba University, Chiba, Japan
Thesis: The Urban Image of Special Wards of Tokyo based on geo-tagged photo: Comparison between Japanese and Foreigner
Supervisor: Isami Kinoshita
Bachelor 2013–2017
Landscape Architecture
Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
ACADEMIC APPOINTMENTS
The University of Tokyo, Japan
Center for Spatial Information Science
Project Assistant Professor April. 2025-Present
Project Researcher Oct. 2023-March 2025
  • Develop smart mobility digital twin platform
  • Develop system for realization of urban digital twin
  • Research on generative AI methodologies used in urban planning
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA Jan. 2023-June 2023
Media Lab, City Science Group
Visiting Student
  • Multi-stakeholder urban community performance analysis
  • Develop digital tool for multi-stakeholder participation in decision-making on urban development projects
Tongji University, China Oct. 2021–Oct. 2023
Tongji-MIT City Science Lab @Shanghai
Research Affiliate
  • Research on the application of TUIs in urban decision support systems
  • Develop planning support system for an urban renewal project
  • Research on incentive mechanism and token system in decentralized autonomous organizations
The University of Tokyo, Japan Oct. 2021–Mar. 2023
SPRING GX project student
  • Develop a prototype citizen-oriented simulation tool for regional plan.
The University of Tokyo, Japan Apr. 2020–Sept. 2021
Research Assistant, Department of Civil Engineering
Tsinghua University, China July 2019–Oct. 2019
Beijing City Lab
Research Intern, Department of Architecture
JOURNAL PUBLICATIONS
* indicates the corresponding author
Socioeconomic disparities in heat exposure in India: A mobility-based analysis
J. Ma, C. Sun*, SC. Gabilondo, CD. Torbjörnsson, Q. Guo, Y. Shibuya, Y. Sekimoto
Sustainable Cities and Society (2026) 145: 107437
Should We Jump from the Perspective of Shrinking Cities to Urban Growth Divides? The Hints from the City Size Distribution in Japan Over the Past Half-Century
X. Xu, J. Ma*, F. Seta, K. Sho
Cities (2025) 158: 105638
Are East Asian “shrinking cities” falling into a loop? Insights from the interplay between population decline and metropolitan concentration in Japan
X. Xu, J. Ma*, K. Sho, F. Seta
Cities (2024) 155: 105445
A Cost-and-effect Simulation Model for Compact City Approaches: A Case Study in Japan
J. Ma*, Y. Shibuya, Y. Pang, H. Omata, Y. Sekimoto
Cities (2024) 152: 105212
WindSR: Improving Spatial Resolution of Satellite Wind Speed Through Super-Resolution
Kumar, T. Islam, J. Ma, T. Kashiyama, Y. Sekimoto, C. Mattmann
IEEE Access (2023) 11: 69486-69494
Development of current estimated household data and agent-based simulation of the future population distribution of households in Japan
K. Kajiwara, J. Ma*, T. Seto, Y. Sekimoto, Y. Ogawa, H. Omata
Computers, Environment and Urban Systems (2022) 98: 101873
Prototyping of A Citizen-oriented Regional Planning Tool to Automated Digital Design Process: A Case Study on the New Station Planning in Susono, Shizuoka Prefecture
J. Ma*, T. Seto, H. Omata, Y. Sekimoto
Reports of The City Planning Institution of Japan (2021) 20: 277 – 283
An Empirical Study on Role of Art to Raising City Image from the Context of Youth Perceptions: Semarang City, Indonesia
E. Sigit*, N. Elkalam, J. Ma, I. Kinoshita
Asian Journal of Behavioral Studies (2018) 4(16): 1-17
REFEREED CONFERENCE PAPERS & PRESENTATIONS
Linking Urban Morphology and Human Activity Patterns: An Empirical Study Based on Mobility Survey Data from the Paris Region
Jianyu Fu; Zhihua Zhong; Xukang Wang; Jue Ma; Yoshihide Sekimoto
IEEE Bigdata 2025
Urban Real Accessibility Evaluation Based on GPS Data: Integration of Multiple Accessibility Indicators and Deep Learning
Fu Jianyu; Jue Ma; Yoshihide Sekimoto
NetMob Data Challenge 2025
Improving Activity Classification Using Highly Detailed Demographic Profiles
Santiago Garcia-Gabilondo; Ketian Chen; Ziyue Chen; Jue Ma; Yoshihide Sekimoto
NetMob Data Challenge 2025
Temporal Convolutional Network Forecasting of Tourism Demand Indicators Based on GPS Data: A Case Study in Japan
Ketian Chen; Jue Ma; Chenbo Zhao; Yoshihide Sekimoto
NetMob 2025
Predicting Building Height from Footprint and Urban Planning Information for Digital Twin Generation
J. Ma, C. Zhao, Y. Ogawa, Y. Sekimoto
Int. Arch. Photogramm. Remote Sens. Spatial Inf. Sci., XLVIII-4/W15-2025, 107–112, https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-archives-XLVIII-4-W15-2025-107-2025, 2025
20th 3D GeoInfo Conference 2025
Development of Mobility Digital Twin for Public Transportation Planning: Addressing the Challenges of Depopulation and Aging
J. Ma, Y. Pang, Y. Sekimoto
Computational Urban Planning and Urban Management Conference 2025
Identifying and analyzing consumer behaviors in shopping center from GPS data based on machine learning
Luyao LIU; Jue MA; Yoshihide SEKIMOTO; Yuya SHIBUYA
Computational Urban Planning and Urban Management Conference 2025
Socioeconomic Disparities in Heat Exposure and Mitigation Based on Human Mobility in India
J. Ma, S. Garcia, C. Torbjörnsson, C. Sun, Z. Wu, Y. Shibuya, Y. Sekimoto
Netmob Data Challenge 2024
Dynamic Air Pollution Exposure Assessment Based on Human Mobility: Case Studies from India, Indonesia, and Mexico
Y. Shibuya, S. Garcia, C. Torbjörnsson, Z. Wu, C. Sun, J. Ma, Y. Sekimoto
Netmob Data Challenge 2024
Navigating Work-Life Symmetry: A Multi-Stakeholder Indicator System
J. Ma, L. A. Alonso, M. F. ElKatsha, W. Mo, Y. Sekimoto, K. Larson
2024 ACSP 64th Annual Conference
Revealing the Spatiotemporal Evolutionary Characteristics, Influencing Factors and Mitigation Measures of Carbon Emission in Tokyo
L. Liu, S. Garcia, J. Ma, E. Zeng, W. Li, Y. Shibuya, Y. Sekimoto
The 36th AESOP Annual Congress (2024)
Unmasking Socioeconomic Disparities: A Study of Urban Segregation through the Lens of Mobile App Usage Patterns
Y. Shibuya, S. Garcia, C. Sun, P. Yu, J. Ma, S. Yoshihide
Netmob Data Challenge 2023
Automatic cost and effect estimation for regional planning scenarios
J. Ma, H. Omata, Y. Shibuya, Y. Sekimoto
The 31st Annual Conference of the Association for GIS (2022)
Development of A GIS Database to Support Regional Plan through Digital Design
J. Ma, H. Omata, Y. Sekimoto
The 30th Annual Conference of the Association for GIS (2021)
The Online Destination Image of Main Sightseeing Spots in Tokyo -- Based on the Photo from Flickr Shared by Foreign Tourists
J. Ma, I. Kinoshita
International Conference 2019 on Spatial Planning and Sustainable Development (2019)
The Urban Image of Special Wards of Tokyo based on geo-tagged photo
J. Ma, I. Kinoshita
The Conference of Japan Institute of Landscape Architecture (2019)
INVITED TALKS
Cost-effect Simulation Model and Digital Tool for Compact City Planning
KRIHS GAMC 2024 Geospatial Data Insight Seminar (Sept. 2024)
Citizen Participatory Planning Support Systems and Digital Tools
The University of Tokyo (May. 2024)
Building Interactive Cities: Planning Support Systems and Digital Tools for Public Engagement
CMU-UT Symposium on Urban Engineering and Informatics (Apr. 2024)
DEVELOPED TOOL
Citizen Participative Regional Planning Digital Platform (2023)
Multi-stakeholder Indicator Metrics System Platform (2023)
TEACHING
Teaching Assistant:
University of Tokyo
Spring 2026/2025/2024/2023: Geographic Information Systems Exercise
Summer 2025/2024: Digital Space and Society Research Organization Summer School
Spring 2024: Academic Frontier Lectures (Frontiers of Research and Social Implementation in Digital Space Society)
Spring 2024: Exercises in Spatial Information Systems
Research Advisor:
Advised 7 graduate and 8 undergraduate students' research projects