Prof. Natacha Aveline-Dubach | Economic Geography | Best Researcher Award

Prof. Natacha Aveline-Dubach | French National Centre for Scientific Research | France

Prof. Natacha Aveline-Dubach is a distinguished CNRS research director at Géographie-cités, Condorcet Campus, affiliated with University Paris Panthéon-Sorbonne. With academic qualifications in history, physical geography, Japanese language, and a PhD in urban sciences, she has built an exceptional interdisciplinary career in urban planning, land policies, and socio-economic geography, particularly in East Asia. Her research spans France, Japan, China, Singapore, and Lebanon, with leadership in major international projects such as SPACE, MEDIUM, ODESSA, and FINURBASIE. She has held prominent positions as visiting scholar at prestigious universities, including Kyoto University, Tokyo Metropolitan University, and Hong Kong University. A respected educator, she has taught and supervised doctoral students across institutions in France, Asia, and North America. Prof. Aveline-Dubach is actively involved in scientific evaluation committees, editorial boards, and professional associations. Her scholarly excellence has been recognized with awards such as the Shibusawa-Claudel Prize and multiple prestigious research fellowships.

Publication Profile

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Academic Background and Qualifications

Prof. Natacha Aveline-Dubach possesses a rich and diverse academic background rooted in prestigious institutions across France and internationally. She completed her undergraduate studies in history at the University of Strasbourg, followed by a master’s degree in physical geography with a focus on climatology and hydrology. She later expanded her academic pursuits by earning a bachelor’s degree in Japanese language and civilization from INALCO Paris. Her scholarly journey culminated in a PhD in urban sciences from EHESS Paris, and she later obtained her habilitation to supervise research in urban planning and policy from the University Lyon Louis–Lumière. Her multilingual capabilities are further evidenced by her completion of the Chinese Proficiency Test HSK, administered by Hanban of the People’s Republic of China. This interdisciplinary and international education has laid a solid foundation for her distinguished career in urban geography, planning, and East Asian studies.

Professional Journey

Prof. Natacha Aveline-Dubach has built a distinguished career in urban geography and land policy, with a focus on East Asia. She began her professional journey in Paris as a marketing consultant, advising on housing markets and development feasibility across France. Her academic pursuits led her to Tokyo as a visiting scholar at the Center for Urban Studies, where she researched Japan’s land bubble. She continued her research on land and urban policies in Japan and Lebanon as a permanent CNRS researcher in Toulouse, while teaching at the University Toulouse. In Kyoto, she explored how private railways influenced Japanese urbanization, followed by work in Tokyo on post-bubble land policies. Her work in Lyon expanded to include Thailand’s industrial clusters. She later directed the CNRS representative office in North Asia, managing scientific cooperation while studying the funeral industry in the region. Prof. Aveline-Dubach has conducted pioneering research on the financialization of real estate in Japan, Hong Kong, and China, held visiting positions at leading universities, and is currently based at the Condorcet Campus as a first-class CNRS research director, leading the SPACE project on environmental infectious diseases in Singapore.

Awards and Honors

Prof. Natacha Aveline-Dubach has been the recipient of several distinguished awards and international research scholarships that highlight her academic excellence and commitment to urban studies and land policies. She was honored with the prestigious Shibusawa-Claudel Prize for her influential book “La bulle foncière au Japon,” a groundbreaking study on Japan’s real estate bubble. Her academic journey has also been supported through various competitive fellowships. She was awarded a Japan Foundation scholarship which enabled her to serve as a visiting scholar at Waseda University’s Institute of Comparative Law, contributing to cross-cultural academic exchange. Through the Canon Foundation Europe scholarship, she engaged in economic research at Kyoto University, focusing on Japanese urban dynamics. Additionally, the Japon-Lavoisier scholarship facilitated her long-term academic placement at the Center for Urban Studies at Tokyo Metropolitan University, where she explored Japan’s housing and land use systems. These honors reflect her sustained impact on international urban research.

Research Focus

Prof. Natacha Aveline-Dubach’s research lies at the intersection of urban studies, economic geography, and real estate financialization, with a strong focus on East Asian cities. Her work explores the transformation of land and property markets under global and financial pressures, particularly in megacities such as Tokyo, Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Seoul. She investigates transit value capture, the financialization of rental housing, and the role of private actors like railway corporations in shaping urban space. Her scholarship also examines housing inequality, land policy, and the embeddedness of global capital in the built environment. Drawing from comparative urbanism, she analyzes how institutional and cultural contexts shape the trajectory of property markets in Asia and Europe. Her interdisciplinary approach connects urban planning, sociology, and economics, contributing to a deeper understanding of how global finance reshapes urban land regimes. She also explores emerging topics such as health care real estate, demographic shifts, and post-mortem urban space in Asian cities.

Publication Top Notes

• The political economy of transit value capture: The changing business model of the MTRC in Hong Kong
  Year: 2019
  Citation: 81

• Immobilier: l’Asie, la bulle et la mondialisation
  Year: 2008
  Citation: 69

• The financialization of rental housing in Tokyo
  Year: 2022
  Citation: 65

• La ville et le rail au Japon: l’expansion des groupes ferroviaires privés à Tôkyô et Ôsaka
  Year: 2016
  Citation: 64

• Housing (in) equity and the spatial dynamics of homeownership in France: a research agenda
  Year: 2021
  Citation: 57

Conclusion

Prof. Natacha Aveline-Dubach is highly suitable for the Best Researcher Award. Her multi-decade career showcases exceptional scholarly leadership, multidisciplinary expertise, and international collaboration. Her research not only addresses complex urban and societal challenges but also influences policy and governance across cultures. Her candidacy is strongly recommended, with only minor areas where strategic enhancements could broaden her already impressive academic footprint.