SEED professor awarded RTPI Gold Medal for outstanding contribution to planning

05 May 2026

Professor Cecilia Wong received the RTPI Gold Medal, one of the highest honours in the planning profession.

Cecilia Wong, Professor of Spatial Planning in SEED, was awarded the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) Gold Medal, one of the highest honours in the planning profession, at its General Assembly on Wednesday, 22 April.

The Medal, which was first awarded in 1953, recognises exceptional achievements in town and country planning and is granted to individuals nominated by their peers. Professor Wong becomes only the 17th recipient in the award’s history.

Jan Bessell, RTPI Fellow, presented Cecilia with her award, praising her significant contributions to the field and highlighting her leadership, mentorship and influential work, which was recognised as shaping modern planning.

Cecilia said: “It is a tremendous honour to receive the Gold Medal from the RTPI. The award recognises the power of collaboration between academia and practice in advancing strategic spatial planning.

“By applying spatial and mapping analysis, we have helped stimulate debate, demonstrating the need to engage seriously with spatial complexity and to recognise the critical role of functional connectivity in effective policymaking.

“There is an urgent need for a national spatial vision to address entrenched spatial inequalities across the UK. Delivering innovative policy and practice is best achieved through close collaboration between research and professional practice, combining reflexive professional insight with emerging digital opportunities.

“We are living through a period of uncertainty, but it is also a moment ripe for creative and ambitious discussion.”