Yehang Lu

Thesis Title

“Sustainable Urban Governance through Recurring Sporting Events: An Actor Network Analysis of Tangible and Intangible Dimensions in the Case of Sheffield’s World Snooker Championship.”

Profile

My thesis investigates how a recurring international sporting event can contribute to sustainable urban governance, using the World Snooker Championship in Sheffield as a longitudinal case. Rather than treating the event simply as a short term economic or promotional opportunity, the study examines how its repeated presence becomes embedded in local governance processes, institutional relationships, and urban development strategies over time.

The research focuses on how the World Snooker Championship is negotiated, sustained, and translated within the city through interactions among public institutions, event organisers, venue actors, commercial partners, and other stakeholders. Particular attention is given to both tangible dimensions, such as venue development, economic activity, and urban investment, and intangible dimensions, such as city image, civic identity, institutional trust, and governance capacity. The project is theoretically grounded in Actor Network Theory, which allows the thesis to trace how actors, relationships, and material arrangements are assembled and stabilised in ways that support the long term positioning of the event within the city.

Using a mixed methods design with a qualitative emphasis, the research combines document analysis, interviews, observation, and contextual quantitative indicators. In doing so, it aims to show how recurring sporting events can function not only as spectacles, but also as governance projects through which cities pursue continuity, legitimacy, and sustainable urban futures.

I joined the Sheffield University Management School in February 2025 as a PhD researcher. Prior to my PhD, I completed an MSc in East Asian Business at the University of Sheffield’s School of East Asian Studies. During my postgraduate studies, I developed research interests in sustainability, urban development, and the wider social and economic significance of major sporting events, including work related to the Tokyo Olympics.

My research is interdisciplinary and sits at the intersection of sustainable urban governance, sport event studies, and city development. I aim to contribute both theoretically and empirically to debates on how recurring sporting events shape urban governance, and to provide insights for policymakers, local authorities, and event stakeholders seeking to understand the longer term value of hosting such events.