Judges

Janet Askew is a chartered town planner and a past President of the Royal Town Planning Institute. She is the President of the European Council of Spatial Planners, new chair of the Planning Policy and Research Committee, and former chair of the International Committee of the RTPI, in which role she has led on the production of a new international strategy for the RTPI. A long career in the public and private sectors and academia included leading the School of Planning and Architecture in Bristol for many years. She is currently the Visiting Professor in Planning Law in Ulster University, Northern Ireland, and visiting lecturer at Cardiff University in Wales. She has worked in all four nations of the UK and lectured extensively in various European countries, China and Taiwan. Her main area of research is in planning law, specialising in legal and regulatory regimes, and she has advised various governments on planning regulations and planning systems.  She is a member of the International Platform of Experts in Planning Law, most recently working with planners and lawyers in Poland and Spain, as well as an advisor to the German ARL (research academy) on planning reform. She chairs the RTPI partnership boards of planning schools in the University of Cape Town, South Africa, and University College Cork, Ireland. 

I currently work for the Planning Inspectorate. Prior to this I have always worked in Development Management. I began my planning career working for Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council dealing with a range of cases including enforcement. I was the Biodiversity Net Gain lead for the Development Management Service and enjoyed delivering training for my colleagues on this subject.  I come from a social science background and therefore have an interest in both qualitative and quantitative research.

A Fellow of the RTPI, Richard has over 30 years of experience in planning policy in local and central government and in England and West Africa. He worked as Head of Policy Practice and Research for the RTPI from 2011 to 2024.

Susan is a Chartered Town Planner with 30 years' experience as a planning practitioner in local government and over 12 years in the development industry. She was Head of Planning for six years at Northampton Borough Council and has a proven track record in successfully managing the department through a difficult period of change and transformation. Since 2014 Susan has worked as an independent planning consultant working with both public and private sector clients.  She has practical experience of dealing with a wide range of projects from rural exception sites to new settlements and sustainable urban extensions with a proven track record of working in partnership in a multi-agency and disciplinary environment.  Susan was Chair of the Board of Trustees from July 2019 to the end of 2022 and is the RTPI President 2023.

Claudia is a chartered (town) planner, an elected member of the RTPI West Midlands Regional Activities Committee and Professor of Environmental Governance and Planning. She is passionate about training future planners on BCU’s Planning Masters programme. Her interdisciplinary research relates to spatial planning, placemaking and social-ecological sustainability transformation. Claudia led and contributed to developing cross-disciplinary approaches, and tools for participatory planning and collaborative decision-making. Outputs include Participology, a resource for inclusive and critical-creative planning and decision-making using a board game format. Related projects are CLIMANIA, a boardgame on climate literacy and retrofit which won the RTPI Sir Peter Hall Award for Excellence in Research and Engagement in 2023, and the Place Makers game which received the RTPI West Midlands Chair’s Award in 2018 (https://www.bcu.ac.uk/built-environment/about-us/our-staff/claudia-carter).

Ifeanyi is a Principal EIA Consultant at WSP. He is a Chartered Town Planner (MRTPI) and Chartered Environmentalist (CEnv), with about two decades of experience across town planning, marine licensing, environmental assessment and project management with previous employment within the Uk Planning Inspectorate, Marine Management Organisation and previously in Nigeria. He is a Chartered Member of the RTPI’s General Assembly, member of the International Committee and Vice President, Commonwealth Association of Planners.

I am an experienced policy planner currently working in the Planning Policy and Place team at North Yorkshire Council having previously worked at Historic England. I have a keen interest in heritage, local plans and health. 

Gillian is the Manager of Spatial Planning – Research & Development team within the Development Plan Group at Glasgow City Council.  She has a BSc (Hons) in Town Planning from Heriot-Watt University and BSc (Hons) in Human Geography from the Open University.  She is a chartered member of the Royal Town Planning Institute and currently the Chair on their Partnership and Accreditation Panel. She has  completed six years as the RTPI nominated practitioner rep on Queen University Belfast Planning school partnership Board, which she also chaired for the final two years. She has spent the last three years in a similar role with the Technical University Dublin Partnership Board, where she currently the chair.

Gillian had the lead role for the Council within the Horizon 2020 Connecting Nature project, where Glasgow was one of the front runner cities.  http://www.connectingnature.eu/glasgow Glasgow is used its Open space Strategy and Delivery Plan (opportunity mapping) as it’s exemplar within this project.

Dr Chris Foye is a Lecturer in Real Estate and Planning at Bartlett School of Planning, UCL. His research focusses on the political-economy of housing markets and policy. In 2024, he won the RTPI Academic Award for Research Excellence for his report (with Dr Edward Shepherd) into the volume housebuilding industry in Britain. 

Dr. Sepideh Hajisoltani (BA MSc. PhD. MRTPI IHBC) has a multidisciplinary background in architecture, town planning, and conservation. Her research work focuses on complex interconnections of social, environmental, political, and economic transitions in UK city centres. She was the past Chair of Scottish Young Planners in 2023 and is a current member of the RTPI Scottish Executive Committee and the International Committee. She is the Education Training and Standards officer for the IHBC Scotland Branch. 

Tongping holds a Ph.D. from the University of Hong Kong. She is a certified planner in China and holds credentials as a BEAM Professional, LEED & WELL Accredited Professional. Tongping is dedicated to utilizing digital innovations to transform urban sustainability. She has developed a simulation-based design optimization framework and deployed machine learning algorithms to integrate technical innovations into urban planning, prioritizing heat-resilient strategies with urban cooling as a goal.

Before academic career, Tongping worked as a green building engineer in Hong Kong and contributed to award-winning projects in sustainable environmental design across the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area, collaborating with leading international design companies, developers, and government institutes. She serves as the Director (R&D) of EnEnP, a pioneering tech start-up founded in 2024 that harnesses digital innovations to advance sustainable urban development. 

Hannah is a professional town planner by background and has worked across the public and private sectors. She is currently Associate Professor of Planning Practice at the University of the West of England and was selected as The Planner's “Women of Influence 2022: Academia”. She is passionate about research informed practice, and practice informed research. Her most recent projects have included: the role of local planning authorities in delivering brownfield land (for the Planning Advisory Service); improving post-planning processes to deliver better places (for the West of England Combined Authority and winner of the 2021 RTPI Sir Peter Hall Award for Research Excellence); and project-hindsight: post-decision implementation (for the National Infrastructure Planning Association).

Shaun is a Planning Policy Officer at Preston City Council with almost four years experience in Local Authority. He is working towards Chartership as a Degree Apprentice. Outside of his professional role, Shaun helped establish and now serves as Co-Chair of the Young POS North West, supporting early career public sector planners within the region. He sits on multiple RTPI committees, including the ELLC and PPRC. A qualified teacher, he continues to champion the role of education though his committee work.

Dr Martha Mingay is an early career researcher currently lecturing at the Bartlett School of Planning, University College London. Her thesis, 'Crisis and the Common(s): Understanding urban Community Land Trust activism' was awarded without corrections by the University of Sheffield in 2023, and Martha was a 2024 RTPI finalist for Early Career Researcher of the Year. Martha has a background in policy research as a former Research Officer at the London Assembly Labour Group, Greater London Authority.

Charlotte Mohn is an international urban planning professional specializing in inclusive and sustainable urban development and reconstruction. She currently works for IOM | UN Migration in Ukraine, focusing on reconstruction, public service provision and participatory planning. Previously, she contributed to UN-Habitat’s initiatives in Ukraine, supporting urban planning for inclusive and sustainable recovery. Her experience extends to Afghanistan, where she worked on public infrastructure and stabilization projects, and Kenya, where she contributed to promoting inclusive and sustainable urban development at a global scale. Prior to joining the field of international development, Charlotte worked as a planner in the UK. Charlotte holds an MSc in International Planning from the Bartlett School at UCL, and an MA (Hons) in Sociology and Politics from the University of Edinburgh.

Dr Joanne Oldfield is a fully chartered planner with over fifteen years’ experience across research and practice. She joined Sheffield Hallam University from Carter Jonas having previously worked for Savills as a Senior Planning Consultant. Before this Joanne completed her PhD at the University of Sheffield, exploring the application of sustainable development in practice via the complex regeneration of the former Orgreave colliery site at Waverley, Rotherham. Dr Oldfield is currently a Senior Lecturer at Sheffield Hallam University and Course Lead for the Degree Apprenticeship MSc in Urban Planning. 

Dr Rob Richardson is a Lecturer in Placemaking at the University of Manchester, with particular research interests in urban design governance. He received an RTPI Award for Research Excellence (Early Career Researcher) in 2024, and currently teaches Placemaking and Neighbourhood Planning. He previously held post-doctoral roles at the University of Glasgow, and the University of Cambridge Centre for Housing and Planning Research. Rob's PhD - from the University of Glasgow - was a collaborative project with West Dunbartonshire Council, studying the implementation of the Scottish Government’s placemaking agenda.

Dr Pablo Sendra is an architect and urban designer. He is an Associate Professor at The Bartlett School of Planning, UCL. He combines his academic career with professional work through his own urban design practice, LUGADERO LTD, which focuses on facilitating co-design processes with communities. At UCL, he is the Director of the MSc Urban Design and City Planning Programme and the Coordinator of the Civic Design CPD. He has carried out action-research projects in collaboration with activists and communities, including working with residents from social housing estates. He is co-author of Designing Disorder (with Richard Sennett, 2020), Community-Led Regeneration (with Daniel Fitzpatrick, 2020), and co-editor of Civic Practices (with Maria Joao Pita and CivicWise, 2017).

Dr. Edward Shepherd is Senior Lecturer in Planning and Development in the School of Geography and Planning at Cardiff University. His research and teaching interests include the ideological dimensions of land and land markets and the political and economic geographies of land use and housing development. He is currently working on an ESRC-funded project on ideology, housing and land value capture and has conducted research on housebuilders, the politics of planning reform, planning risk and land promotion. His research consistently engages with policy implications. Prior to entering academia, Edward worked in planning and development consultancy, during which he advised on planning applications, development briefs and affordable housing viability for public and private sector clients.

Simeon Shtebunaev is an interdisciplinary researcher at Social Life. Their PhD project at Birmingham City University explores how young people engage in the planning of future 'smart' cities. He was a principal investigator on the AHRC funded project “Are you game for climate action?” developing the board game Climania with young people focusing on the role of the built environment in climate change. Simeon was selected as the RIBAJ Rising Star 2021 and RTPI Young Planner of the Year 2022. 

Stefano Smith has over 35 years' planning experience. He is currently Founding Director of Stefano Smith Planning with specific experience in statutory planning, sustainability, regeneration, master planning, environmental assessment and economic development. He has advised and negotiated upon complex and sensitive residential, commercial, industrial, mixed-use and power and energy proposals of all sizes. He has supported several research studies including Scottish Government Infrastructure Charging Mechanisms, and currently supporting LSE on Scottish Government research on developer contributions. Stefano is a High Streets Task Force Expert & Facilitator and part of the national effort supporting local authorities and communities to transform our high streets at this critical time; helping solve complex, interdisciplinary issues, and bringing expertise to entrenched problems and new challenges.

Stefano is the RTPI Board Trustee for Scotland and Chair of the RTPI Education & Lifelong Learning Committee and Vice Chair of RTPI Audit Committee. He is a Chartered Fellow of the Royal Town Planning Institute (FRTPI) with extensive experience in participating on judging panels.

Teresa’s planning experience is drawn from a range of roles across different sectors.  Working as a community planner with Planning Aid England. her attention was drawn to the potential for young people’s voice in place making.  This insight subsequently influenced her teaching and research as Senior Lecturer at Newcastle University.  Now retired, Teresa’s writing and workshops continue to contribute to the discussion around youth engagement and the skills that this demands of planning professionals.   

Mark is UCL Bartlett Professor of Cities and Regions at the Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis, UCL. He is a recognised authority on urban planning, urban & regional history, digital place connectivity, the governance of the city, public engagement, and the use of land. The author of 20 books and over 100 international journal papers, he has won £25m in research income, and supervised successfully over 30 PhD students. He has given over 400 talks worldwide on planning and has been a Visiting Professor at Berkeley California, Hong Kong, Shanghai, UNSW Sydney, Western Sydney, Guadalajara, Pretoria, Malta, Nijmegen, and Dublin. Mark was a member of the Digital Planning Task Force, the ICLRD advisory board, and chaired the Connected Places Catapult Research Panel. He is a former chair of the Regional Studies Association and has been a member of the RTPI General Assembly, the UK Chief Scientist’s Land Use Futures Foresight project, seconded to the Government Office for Science, is a former advisor to UK Government ministries DEFRA, MHCLG and DfT, the Scottish Government, the Welsh Government, served on the NICE NHS spatial planning & health programme, and was the Founding Director of UKRI Newcastle City Futures.

Dr. Caterina Villani is an Assistant Professor in Urban and Regional Planning at University College Dublin, specializing in urban design, transport planning, and critical urban theory. With a focus on fostering just urban transitions to post-carbon communities, her research advances the role of vulnerable groups in reclaiming their right to urban space. A finalist for the 2024 RTPI Early Career Research Excellence Award, she has published extensively and is engaged in projects that include planning street experiments with and for marginalised groups.