Yan Zhang

Yan Zhang is a senior urban specialist at the World Bank, currently working in the South Asia Region as a technical lead for housing sector engagement in India and Pakistan. Yan has more than 18 years of professional experience in affordable housing policy, urban land management, municipal service delivery, and urban resilience across all regions.

Yan’s work has gravitated towards housing subsidy design, housing sector policy and institutional reforms, affordable housing PPPs, and rental housing. Yan has led lending operations and advisory work on urban land supply, affordable housing, slum upgrading, and rental housing in Ethiopia, Ghana, and South Africa.

During her tenure in the East Asia region, Yan was based in Manila, the Philippines, where she introduced innovations and built capacities of shelter agencies, cities, and communities, with a focus on informal settlers living in hazardous areas.

Yan co-led two global knowledge notes for the housing sector: Urban Land and Housing Market Assessment Toolkit and Affordable Housing PPPs . Yan holds a doctoral degree in public policy and urban planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston, MA. Before MIT, Yan was an urban planner in the China Academy of Urban Planning and Design.