The “Low Altitude Economy and Sustainable Air Transportation Workshop” was held on December 7, 2025. Co-hosted by the Department of Systems Engineering, the Department of Data Science, and the Office of the Vice-President (Research), and administered by our research team, this interdisciplinary event convened leading international scholars to explore critical challenges in low-altitude urban aviation. We were particularly honored to have Prof. John D. Spengler, Akira Yamaguchi Professor at Harvard University and Distinguished Visiting Professor at CityUHK, serve as the Guest of Honor and deliver the opening remarks.
The workshop featured four pivotal presentations focusing on traffic management and environmental sustainability. Prof. Nikolas Geroliminis (EPFL) opened the technical sessions by revisiting urban mobility frameworks through the lens of UAV integration. This was followed by Prof. Lishuai Li (CityUHK), who discussed the complexities of network design and airspace management for Unmanned Aircraft Systems. Shifting the focus to noise and environmental impact, Prof. Lourenco Tercio Lima Pereira (TU Delft) presented research on the aeroacoustics of low-altitude vehicles, and Prof. Zhenyu Gao (HKUST) concluded the sessions by proposing noise control solutions for low-altitude air traffic management.
This workshop served as a valuable platform for connecting experts across traffic theory, acoustics, and system design. By addressing both operational efficiency and environmental footprints, the discussions fostered new collaborations aimed at building a safer, quieter, and more sustainable low-altitude economy for future smart cities.
Written by Chi Li
Edited by Lishuai Li
Lishuai Li 