CC BY 4.0Chang, Hsiutzu Betty2022-10-092022-10-0920222566-214710.24306/TrAESOP.2022.01.002https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14235/909https://doi.org/10.24306/TrAESOP.2022.01.002Transactions of the Association of European Schools of Planning; Vol. 6 No. 1 (2022): Special issue: Left behind regions in Europe and beyond; 14-29The subject of regional inequality has been garnering the attention of scholars over the past decade and has generated debates on territories forgotten by mainstream economic activities. Left-behind places are a global phenomenon yet with various situated conditions in different development contexts that required customized, place-based solutions. This paper discusses a possible approach to work with the left-behinds: using the university as an institutional resource to engage people and places in regional regeneration. Using the [anonymised] project as an example, we describe the learning journey of developing the ground solutions and companionship between a research university and left-behind communities in the rural badlands region. Adopting a hybrid of an asset-based approach to community development and collaborative planning for regional development, this case demonstrates a potential level-up strategy for sustainable development for the lagging region. openaccessLeft-behinduniversity social responsibilityplace-basedasset-basedcollaborative planningarticle14-29