Hi, I am Christine Wen, an assistant professor of urban planning at Toronto Metropolitan University specializing in economic development and municipal finance.
My research examines how local governments fund growth initiatives and public services, and what affects their capacity to do so effectively, efficiently, and equitably.
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highlights/updates
this project has since received the Emilio Deo Memorial Award for Studio Excellence at our School - see also this blog I wrote for TMU Center for Urban Research: Last semester (fall 2025), my undergrad studio concluded with students presenting their development concept with massing, market, and feasibility studies to CreateTO for a vacant Port Lands site.
research + teaching
municipal finance: tax policy, local revenue and spending, public services, value capture
economic development: business incentives, including tax-increment financing
water infrastructure: scale and cost of municipal water, wastewater, and stormwater services
education and work: school funding, social equity, labor/work, migration
current courses: municipal finance, statistics, GIS, studios
other teaching interests: urban economics, urban geography, planning theory
,
publications
C. Wen, E. Marcello, & M. Warner (2026) "The fiscal impact of tax abatements on New York's school districts" Journal of Urban Affairs, 48(4), 1393-1404. [link]
C. Wen (2024) "Do economic development tax abatements affect school finances?" Economic Development Quarterly, 38 (1), 3-14. [link]
C. Wen & G. LeRoy (2023) "Making the students pay? The gross fiscal cost of tax incentives for U.S. school districts." Community Development, 54 (4), 479-495. [link]
C. Wen (2020) "Educating rural migrant children in interior China: The promise and pitfall of low-fee private schools." International Journal of Educational Development 79. [link]
C. Wen, Y. Xu, Y. Kim, & M. Warner (2020) "Starving counties, squeezing cities: Tax and expenditure limits in the U.S." Journal of Economic Policy Reform 23 (2), 101-119. [link]
C. Wen & J. Wallace (2019) "Toward human-centered urbanization? Housing ownership and access to social insurance among migrant households in China." Sustainability 11(13), 3567-3581. [link]
media
publications I wrote for Good Jobs First [link]
+ where I was quoted, interviewed, or my study/report featured
Consumer Reports
Bloomberg Tax
The Conversation
Bloomberg Law
Washington Post
Philadelphia Inquirer
Post and Courier
Chalkbeat Philadelphia
MinnPost
The State
Substack
Bloomberg CityLab
American Economic Liberties Project
about
I am an assistant professor of urban planning at Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson) specializing in municipal finance, urban economics, and quantitative methods. After receiving my Ph.D. in City and Regional Planning from Cornell University in 2019, I worked as researcher/coordinator for a D.C.-based nonprofit (Good Jobs First) and assistant professor at Texas A&M University. I then taught intro geography, planning, and data visualization at the University of Calgary.
