Sophie Sturup Ph.D.

Senior Associate Professor

Dr Sophie Sturup is a Senior Associate Professor in Urban Planning and Design at Xi'an Jiaotong Liverpool University. She is Programme Director BEng Urban Planning and Design, and Chair of the Department Progress Committee.

After completing her undergraduate degree in Science at University of Melbourne in 1994, Dr Sturup worked in the Victorian Department of Treasury and Finance in the unit established to privatise the state owned electricity and gas services. During this time she developed her own consultancy practice and after the completion of the privatisation process in 1999, she worked in various capacities including as Secretary to the Australian Energy Alliance (providing advice to the APEC Energy Business Network) and on a project to ensure appropriate handling of the contingent liabilities associated with contractors records for Public Record Office Victoria.

Dr Sturup completed a Masters of Science in Geography at University of Oxford in 2006 and completed her PhD “Managing Mentalities of Mega Projects” at University of Melbourne in 2011. She also holds a Graduate Certificate in public sector management from Flinders University, and is recognised as a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy in the UK.

Concerned primarily with mechanisms that allow for the development of what it is to be human, and the emancipation of human being, Dr Sturup's current research interests include: the effective development and harnessing of public private partnerships; ontologies of urban and strategic planning; the technology and ontologies of mega urban transport projects; and effective governance and development of sustainable urban transport networks.


  • Grad. Certificate Public Sector Management (Flinders University, Australia, 2000)
  • Ph.D. , University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria - 2011
  • M.Sc , University of Oxford, Oxford, UK - 2007
  • BSc (Hons) , University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria - 1994


  • Senior Tutor - Urban Environments, Faculty Architecture Building and Planning, University of Melbourne - 2012 to 2014
  • Principle, Sturup Consulting - 2010 to 2013
  • Researcher/Tutor - Various positions, Faculty Architecture Building and Planning, University of Melbourne - 2009 to 2013
  • Coordinator Future Melbourne Project, Faculty Architecture Building and Planning, University of Melbourne - 2007 to 2007
  • Principle, ANTUR Projects Pty Ltd - 2000 to 2006
  • Policy Officer, Department of Treasury and Finance, State Government of Victoria - 1995 to 2000


  • My research and professional work is framed by the overall question: how can the structures of society (cities, institutions, policy, economy) work in the service of the emancipation of human being. Until recently my research has been focused on three areas: mega projects, public private partnerships and urban agglomerations, a new research direction I am following is related to public transport networks.
  • Key questions I am engaged with include: How can mega projects be harnessed to produce beneficial urban reconfiguration? What is the potential in partnership in public private partnership? How can public transport act as a viable and preferable alternative to the private car?
  • In pursuing these questions I have used both qualitative and quantitative methods, including in-depth interviews, historical and archival research, policy analysis, algorithm development and statistical mapping. I believe it is important that the structures of society are designed to forward the emancipation of human being, and rigorously reviewed to ensure they are serving that purpose.
  • In my PhD I developed a method for understanding features of the mentality or mode of being present in different entities. I have expanded that methodology into new domains, of public private partnerships and planning itself. My PhD work on mega projects demonstrated a method for analysing the way technology, rationality and knowledge within mega projects combine to create a specific mentality or mode of being in the people working in them. This mentality explains why mega projects are resistant to improvement from new developments in technologies such as cost benefit analysis, rational planning, and community consultation. I found that the logic of power in mega projects is sovereignty, that they are governed by project mentality, and that they form through a process of developing problems to which they are the solution. There are numerous implications from these findings.
  • The method I developed for my mega project research combined in depth project description derived from archival research, document review, engineering and technical documentation, legislative context and journalistic reports, with two sets of interviews. One set of interviews was based on story-telling and analysed using narrative analysis; the other was based on traditional in-depth interview techniques. In the long term my goal is to develop an understanding of how mega projects can be harnessed to deliver the transformation to cities that will be needed in a sustainable future. This is especially important given the rapidly urbanising population will only make large scale reconfiguration of cities more complex and challenging. I would also like to explore more of the sociological impacts of project thinking. Particularly how that thinking manifests itself in the structures of society and in individuals lives. It is in pursuit of this higher level objective that this research stream has taken a turn towards understanding how the 'wrong' projects might be stopped once decided upon. I have also begun to explore mega project mentality in China as the size and scale of normal events have quite different meanings in that country.
  • I have also been conducting research to examine how the concept of partnership could manifest in public private partnerships. This is an extension of my research into mentalities of mega projects, which indicated that the logic of project is dominant in PPPs. The logic of project focuses on delivery of a highly defined object within a specified timeframe and budget. This is very different to the logic of partnership, which is about long term relationship building with a view to risk and profit sharing. The research is seeking to understand whether and how the logic of partnership can actually manifest in infrastructure delivery, and to test the functional, ethical and social justice aspects of such partnerships.
  • I am also currently engaged in a number of projects around the implementation of networked (or one line one road) public transport in China. This work acknowledges that high performance public transport is an imperative for Chinese cities. Many cities are engaged in mega projects of various kinds to rapidly build metro systems. There is an urgent need to build into these new systems ideas about how they connect and integrate with other parts of the public transport system to allow fast and efficient anywhere to anywhere travel across metropolitian areas. Without this ambitions to curb car use and retain a livable and walkable environment will not be realised.


  •  Wang, X., Imran, M., Tsui, K., and Sturup, S., (2019) ‘The Use of Value Capture for Transport Projects in China: Opportunities and Challenges’ Asian Transport Studies 5(5) pp 784-810
  • Sturup, S. & Low, N. (2019) 'Sustainable development and Mega Infrastructure: An overview of the issues' Journal of Mega Infrastructure and Sustainable Development 1(1) pp8-26
  • Low, N. & Sturup, S (2018) ‘Being and Planning’ Planning Theory 17(3) pp313-331
  • Bishop, I., Eagleson, S., Pettit, C., Rajabifard, A., Badland, H., Day, J., Furler, J., Kalantari, M., Sturup, S., & White, M. (2017) 'Using an Online Data Portal and Prototype Analysis Tools in an Investigation of Spatial Livability Planning' International Journal of E-Planning Research 6(2) pp 1-21
  • Sturup, S (2017) ‘Swimming or Drowning in the Depths of Partnership’ Australian Journal of Public Administration v 76(3) pp 288 - 300.
  • Sturup, Sophie & Low, Nicholas 2015 'Story lines, leadership and risk, some findings from Australian case studies of urban transport megaprojects', Urban Planning and Research, vol. 33, no. 4, p. 490 - 505
  • Low, Nicholas & Sturup, Sophie 2014 'Animating sorty lines, leadership and risk, the case of the Sydney Cross City Tunnel in Dimitrieu H. Planning Theory and Practice - Interface 'What constitutes a 'successful' mega transport project?'', Planning Theory & Practice, vol. 15, no. 3, p. 490 - 505
  • Legacy, Crystal, Curtis, Carey & Sturup, Sophie 2012 'Is there a good governance model for the delivery of contemporary transport policy and practice? An examination of Melbourne and Perth', Transport Policy, vol. 19, no. 1, p. 8 - 16
  • Sturup, Sophie 2009 'Planning, program and project (editorial)', Urban Planning and Research, vol. 27, no. 1, p. 1-3
  • Low, N., & Sturup, S. (2008). Urban Transport Policy in Australia. [《国际城市规划》2008年第05期 作者:尼古拉斯·洛;索菲·斯蒂鲁普;杜恒]. Urban Planning International (China)


  • Pittman, N., Sturup, S. and Legacy, C. (2017) “Undermining the Tunnel: the Problem-Solution Nexus of Melbourne’s East-West Tunnel” State of Australian Cities National Conference, Adelaide, Australia, 28 – 30 Nov 2017
  • Sturup, S. and Low, N (2017) “On what ground stands strategic planning” Association of European Planning Schools Congress, Lisbon July 2017
  • Sturup, S. and Tolstrup Christensen, L. (2016) “Deepening partnership in Danish rail provision – balancing efficiency and governance” World Conference on Transport Research - WCTR 2016 Shanghai. 10-15 July 2016
  • Sturup, S. (2016) “What Is Partnership – Lessons from Copenhagen’s Metro Project” 20th International Research Society on Public Management Conference 2016, 13 – 15th April, 2016 Hong Kong
  • Day, J. Sturup, S. Chen, Y. Budahazy, M. Wu, A. and Fan, L. (2015) “Activity Centre Policy Effects on Employment Clustering: A Spatial Study of Job Density in Melbourne, Australia” in Burton, P. & Shearer, H. (eds) (2015) State of Australian Cities Conference 2015: Refereed Proceedings, Gold Coast: Urban Research Program at Griffith University on behalf of the Australian Cities Research Network, ISBN: 978-1-925455-03-8
  • Sturup, S. and Low, N. (2015) “Being and Planning” Association of European Schools of Planning Conference, Prague, 13 – 17 July 2015
  • Sturup, S. Pittman, N. and Day, J. (2015) “Compelling and Perpetuating: How an Unpopular Infrastructure Project Stayed Alive in an Era of Public Consultation” Association of European Schools of Planning Conference, Prague, 13 – 17 July 2015
  • Sturup, S. Day, J. Chen, Y. (2013) “An Open-Source Tool for Identifying Industrial Clusters in a Data-Poor Environment” State of Australian Cities National Conference, Sydney, Australia, 26 – 29 Nov 2013
  • Day, J. Sturup, S, Chen, Y (2013) “An Open-Source Tool for Identifying Industrial Clusters in a Data-Poor Environment”, Planning for Resilient Cities, AESOP/ACSP Joint Conference, Dublin, Ireland, 15 – 19 July 2013
  • Sturup, S. and March, A. (2012) “Resilience in Complex Adaptive Systems: the Relationship between Planning and Institutional Resilience in Bushfire Prone Regional Australia’ AESOP, Ankara, 11 - 15 July 2012
  • Sturup, S. (2011) Managing Mentalities a New Paradigm for Thinking Through Planning Mega Projects, presented at World Planning Schools Congress, Perth, 4-8 July, 2011
  • Sturup, S. ( 2010) ‘The Art of Government of Mega Urban Transport Projects’, 12th World Conference on Transport Research Lisbon, July 11-15, 2010
  • Sturup, S (2009) ‘The Art of Government of Melbourne’s City Link Project’, in Proceedings of the State of Australian Cities National Conference: City Growth, Sustainability, Vitality and Vulnerability Australian Sustainable Cities Network, Perth, Australia


  •  Sturup, S (2021) ‘Psychologies and Ontologies in PPPs’ Ch 6 in Greaves C & Hodge G Research Agenda for Public-Private Partnerships and the Governance of Infrastructure, Edward Elgar
  • Sturup, S (2017) “Infrastructure Misadventures” Ch 4 in Tomlinson, R. Australia’s Metropolitan Imperative, an agenda for governance reform, CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne
  • Legacy, Crystal & Leshinsky, Rebecca 2015, 'The problem/solution nexus and its effect on public consultation' in (eds) Instruments of Planning: Tension and challenges for more Equitable and Sustainable Cities, Routledge, pp. 45 - 58
  • Day J. Sturup S. & Chen Y (2013) “An Open-Source Tool for Identifying Industrial Clusters in a Data-Poor Environment” Ch 6 in Rajabifard A. & Eagleson S. Spatial Data Access and Integration to Support Livability: A Case Study in North and West Melbourne, University of Melbourne, Parkville.
  • Hodge, Graeme & Greve, Casten 2013, 'A Foucault perspective on PPP mega projects' in (eds) Rethinging Public-Private Partnerships: Strategic Approaches for Turbulent Times, Routledge, pp.
  • Pretorius, Frederik, Sturup, Sophie & McDougall, A 2012, 'Public-Private Partnerships: transaction analysis and the case of urban motorways' in (eds) Urban Infrastructure: finance and management, Wiley and Sons, pp.
  • Sturup, Sophie, Low, Nicholas, Babb, C, Rudner, Julie & Legacy, Crystal 2012, 'Institutional Barriers and Opportunities' in (eds) Trnasforming Urban Transport: the Ethics, Politics and Practices of Sustainable Mobility, Routledge, pp.


  • Sturup, S. (2019) “What Does Our Transport System Make Us Capable Of?” State of Australian Cities Conference, 3-5 December 2019, Perth, Australia available at https://apo.org.au/node/306034
  • Wang, L., Sturup, S., and Cross, A. (2018) “The motivations for Chinese construction enterprises to participate in Public-private Partnership (PPP) projects in China” 7th Annual Public-Private Partnership Scholars Network (IP3SN), 20-21st September 2018, Toronto, Canada
  • Xin, S and Sturup, S (2018) “Justice and Space: Impacts of Urban Displacement on Relocatee’s Sense of Space” IAG/NZGS Auckland, New Zealand, 11 – 14 July 2018
  • Sturup, S. and Low, N (2017) “On what ground stands strategic planning” Association of European Planning Schools Congress, Lisbon July 2017
  • Sturup, S. (2016) “What Is Partnership – Lessons from Copenhagen’s Metro Project” 20th International Research Society on Public Management Conference 2016, 13 – 15th April, 2016 Hong Kong
  • Day, J. Sturup, S. Chen, Y. Budahazy, M. Wu, A. and Fan, L. (2015) “Activity Centre Policy Effects on Employment Clustering: A Spatial Study of Job Density in Melbourne, Australia” in Burton, P. & Shearer, H. (eds) (2015) State of Australian Cities Conference 2015: Refereed Proceedings, Gold Coast: Urban Research Program at Griffith University on behalf of the Australian Cities Research Network, ISBN: 978-1-925455-03-8
  • Sturup, S. and Low, N. (2015) “Being and Planning” Association of European Schools of Planning Conference, Prague, 13 – 17 July 2015
  • Sturup, S. Pittman, N. and Day, J. (2015) “Compelling and Perpetuating: How an Unpopular Infrastructure Project Stayed Alive in an Era of Public Consultation” Association of European Schools of Planning Conference, Prague, 13 – 17 July 2015
  • Sturup, S. Day, J. Chen, Y. (2013) “An Open-Source Tool for Identifying Industrial Clusters in a Data-Poor Environment” State of Australian Cities National Conference, Sydney, Australia, 26 – 29 Nov 2013
  • Day, J. Sturup, S, Chen, Y (2013) “An Open-Source Tool for Identifying Industrial Clusters in a Data-Poor Environment”, Planning for Resilient Cities, AESOP/ACSP Joint Conference, Dublin, Ireland, 15 – 19 July 2013
  • Sturup, S. and March, A. (2012) “Resilience in Complex Adaptive Systems: the Relationship between Planning and Institutional Resilience in Bushfire Prone Regional Australia’ AESOP, Ankara, 11 - 15 July 2012
  • Sturup, S. (2011) Managing Mentalities a New Paradigm for Thinking Through Planning Mega Projects, presented at World Planning Schools Congress, Perth, 4-8 July, 2011
  • Sturup, S. ( 2010) ‘The Art of Government of Mega Urban Transport Projects’, 12th World Conference on Transport Research Lisbon, July 11-15, 2010
  • Sturup, S (2009) ‘The Art of Government of Melbourne’s City Link Project’, in Proceedings of the State of Australian Cities National Conference: City Growth, Sustainability, Vitality and Vulnerability Australian Sustainable Cities Network, Perth, Australia
  • Sturup, S. (2014) “Deepening Partnership in PPP: how do we know when we are in too deep?” Public-Private Partnership Conference Series CBS-Saunder-Monash, Melbourne, 7 – 9 October 2014
  • March, A. Sturup, S. (2012) “Building Organisational Disaster Resilience: Lessons from Australian Bushfire”, International Disaster Resilience Risk Conference, Global Risk Forum, Davos, Switzerland 26-30 August
  • Sturup, S (2009) ‘Mega Projects and Governmentality’ World Academy of Science Engineering and Technology (WASET) 24 – 26 June 2009, Paris, France
  • Sturup, S. (2010) ‘Project, Policy and Public Consultation’, (non-review stream) 12th World Conference on Transport Research, Lisbon, July 11-15, 2010


  • PI: Sophie Sturup, CI Yina Sima “One road – one line public transport – investigating how to implement transformation of Suzhou’s public transportation system” Key Programme Special Fund (XJTLU/Jiangsu Provincial Government) (3 years) RMB200,000
  • PI: Sophie Sturup, CI Adam Cross “Harmony, moderation and public private partnerships (PPPs) in the Chinese context: lessons from harnessing PPPs for a global audience” XJTLU RDF-17-02-46 PhD Scholarship only
  • PI Sophie Sturup, CI Adam Cross “The effect of public private partnership on networking public transport in China” 50,000 RMB, XJTLU REF-17-01-10
  • PI: Xueming Chen, CI: Chia-Lin Chen, Lin Lin, Sophie Sturup “Empirical Study in the Nodal Transport Function and Place Urban Function of China’s High-speed Rail New Towns in the Context of New Type Urbanisation” (3 years) RMB480000 (10%), 1 Research Student, 1 Research Assistant
  • Sturup S. XJTLU Research Grant (2015) “Understanding how Partnership works in Public Private Partnerships” (1.4 Year) RMB72760 (100%), 0 Research Students, 1 Research Assistant.
  • Day, J. Sturup, S. Stevens, M. and Tomlinson R. University of Melbourne, Architecture Building and Planning Project Seeding Grant (2014) “Getting to F: towards a 2015 ARC Discovery Grant on Successful Failures in Mega Projects” (1 year) $5000 (30%, 25%, 25%, 20%), 0 Research Students, 2 Research Assistants.
  • Sturup, S. University of Melbourne, Architecture Building and Planning Early Career Researcher Grant University of Melbourne (2013) “Understanding how ‘Partnership’ can work in Public Private Partnerships (PPPs)”. (1 year) $3,000 (100%) 0 Research Students, 1 Research Assistants. Principle Investigator
  • McVernon, J. et al. Carlton Connect Initiatives Fund (2013) “ Building and Evidence Base to Support Planning for Socially Connected, Equitable Communities”. (4 months) $18,000 (5%). 0 Research Students, 0 Research Assistants. Investigator
  • Sturup, S. University of Melbourne, Learning and Teaching Initiatives Grant (2013),”Adapting Urban Environments Fieldwork Guide for use on LMS Mobile App” (1 Year) $4,350 (100%) 0 Research Students, 0 Research Assistants. Principle investigator
  • Day, J and Sturup, S. Australian Urban Research Infrastructure Network (AURIN) & Australian National Data Service (ANDS) – North West Metropolitan Region of Melbourne Data Access, Integration and Interrogation and Demonstrator Projects (2013) “Demonstrator Project 2: Impacts of Planned Activity Centres on Local Employment and Accessibility - Evidence of progress toward a polycentric city from” (1 year) $50,000 (50%). 0 Research Students, 1 Research Assistant. Principle investigator


  • 2021 - Current Programme Director, Undergraduate Programme
  • 2019 - Current Deputy Head of Department, Urban Planning and Design
  • 2018 - 2022 Department and then School represenative on University Ethics Committee
  • 2015 - 2020 Chair UPD Teaching and Learning Committee and representative to XJTLU Learning and Teachning Committee
  • 2018 - 2022 Assistant Editor Journal of Mega Infrastructure and Sustainable Development
  • Dec 2015 – Dec 2017 XJTLU Y1 Coordinator, includes representation of Y1 at numerous University level committees


  • Politics Society and Participation - UPD405
  • Contemporary Planning Practice in Western Europe and North America – CDE102
  • Introduction to Urban Planning and Design – CDE002
  • Projecting and Managing Urban Futures – CDE206
  • Networks and Cities – CDE203
  • Planning Systems and Public Policy – ARCH1295
  • Sustainable Transport and Public Policy - ABPL705-536
  • City Futures –ABPL20045
  • Urban Environments – ENVS10007
  • intensive courses in planning through the College of Business, Executive Education, RMIT
  • Transport, Land Use and Urban Form - ABPL90077
  • Minor Thesis (Commencing) - ABPL90217
  • Governing Environments – ENVS10005
  • Professional Practice (now Architectural Practice – ABPL90140)
  • Planning the Productive City (now Economies of Cities and Regions - ABPL90246)


  • 2016 - Fellow Higher Education Academy
  • 2013 – present Associate Researcher, Australasian Centre for Governance and Management of Urban Transport (GAMUT), University of Melbourne
  • 2016 - Present: Journal of Mega Infrastructure Projects & Sustainable Development, Assistant Editor
Sophie Sturup