Mingming Hu applies industrial ecology methods to support the sustainable transition of the built environment. She obtained her PhD in May 2010 with the dissertation Dynamic Material Flow Analysis to Support Sustainable Built Environment Development. Her doctoral research revealed the long-term oscillation pattern of China’s construction sector, projecting a sharp decline in housing demand from around 2020 to 2050 and a sustained increase in demolition waste throughout the 21st century. These projections have proven remarkably prescient, as China has entered the “post-overbuilding era” she identified more than a decade ago. Mingming Hu is an Associate Professor in Industrial Ecology whose research applies quantitative sustainability assessment to support the transition towards carbon-neutral, circular, and climate-resilient built environment. Drawing on an interdisciplinary background in building engineering, construction management, and environmental science, she develops scientific insights and practical tools to advance sustainable urban development. Mingming obtained her PhD in Environmental Science from Leiden University in 2010 with the dissertation Dynamic Material Flow Analysis to Support Sustainable Built Environment Development: Case Studies on Chinese Housing Stock Dynamics. Prior to this, she earned an MSc in Mechanical Engineering from Chongqing Jianzhu University (China), where she specialized in ground-source heat pump systems. Before joining CML in 2006, she worked for five years at the Chongqing Construction Commission, overseeing environmental infrastructure projects. Her research integrates dynamic Material Flow Analysis (dMFA), Life Cycle Sustainability Analysis (LSCA), and spatial analysis to understand how buildings, infrastructure, materials, and urban systems evolve over time. In her doctoral research, she projected the long-term dynamics of China’s construction sector, forecasting declining housing demand and increasing demolition waste decades before these trends became evident. Mingming’s current research focuses on three interconnected themes: built environment metabolism, circular construction supply chains, and spatial opportunities for urban sustainability. Her work addresses topics such as building stock dynamics, circular construction hubs, urban green infrastructure, and resilient cities, with the aim of accelerating the transition towards resource-efficient, resilient and biodiverse urban systems. She has played a leading role in numerous European and international research projects and has contributed significantly to two decades of collaboration between CML and Chinese research partners. She currently leads projects including ReSURE2 on urban resilience, CirCol on circular collaboration in the built environment, and RAW, an EU Pathfinder project on the bio-based and circular transition of the architecture, engineering, and construction sector. Previously, she initiated and coordinated several major Sino-Dutch projects including SIP project on industrial symbiosis and energy efficiency, and the Multigreen project, which supports greener, climate-resilient cities in both countries (See video). The partnership continues through the FOREWARD project, where the Netherlands and China work jointly to improve their water systems. She also initiated a series of European Horizon projects, including ICEBERG, HISER and VEEP, on construction and demolition waste recycling, and the EU FP7 C2CA project on concrete recycling, the Asia-Link ProtEA project on dynamic material flow analysis, the Dutch InnoMan project on waste management methodologies. In addition to her work at Leiden University, Mingming supervises graduate students at Chongqing University, where she holds a visiting scientist position.

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Professional Experience

Mingming Hu is working at regional metabolism, particularly related to construction. She applies MFA, dynamic MFA, LCA and LCC, alone and/or in combination, to support sustainable moves in the construction sector.

In 2010, Mingming obtained her PhD degree on Environmental Science at Leiden University for the dissertation entitled  Dynamic Material Flow Analysis to Support Sustainable Built Environment Development, with Case studies on Chinese Housing Stock Dynamics. She received her MSc degree on mechanical engineering from Chongqing Jianzhu University (China) for her work on ground source heat pump development. Before arriving at CML in 2006, she worked at Chongqing Construction Commission for 5 years, supervising environmental infrastructure construction. As a PhD candidate at CML, she conducted research on dynamic Material Flow Analysis (MFA) for iron and steel in Chinese residential buildings, dynamics of housing stocks in China, strategic Construction and Demolition Waste (CDW) management in Beijing.

Mingming is actively involved in project acquisitions within Europe and Asia. Currently, she is the lead researcher of the H2020 HISER project (hiserproject.eu) focusing on improving the recycling of demolition waste. In addition, she is the project coordinator of the Sino-Dutch project SIP ( Smart Industrial Parks in China: towards Joint Design and Institutionalization. NWO project no. 467-14-003). The SIP project joins researchers in the Netherlands (Leiden University, Technical University of Delft) and China (Chongqing University and Tsinghua University) to reduce energy use via industrial symbiosis.

Previously, she worked on EU FP7 project C2CA (c2c2.eu) on concrete recycling, EU Asia-Link project ProtEA (CN/ASIA-LINK 110-744) on dynamic MFA and Dutch CEP project InnoMan (KNAW no. 09CDP009) on waste management methodologies.

Outside of CML, Mingming teaches building equipment and sustainable construction courses to undergraduate and graduate students in Chongqing University (China), where she holds an associate professor position.

Publications