Launch of the RTPI International Strategy 2021 -2030 speakers

Janet Askew is a chartered town planner and a past President of the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI). She is the Vice-President of the European Council of Spatial Planner; chair of the International Committee of the RTPI; and Professor of Planning Law at Ulster University in Northern Ireland.

Over a long career, she has worked in all four nations of the UK, across Europe and in Taiwan in private and public practice and academia. Her main area of research is in planning law, specialising in legal and regulatory regimes. 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.  She is an advisor to the German ARL (research academy) on planning reform. She chairs the boards of planning schools in the University of Cape Town, South Africa, and University College, Cork, Ireland. 

Sophie Butcher is an urban planning professional and Project Manager with over 8 years’ experience working in both statutory and strategic planning within the NSW planning system.  After completing her Masters in International Planning and Development at Cardiff University, Sophie relocated to Australia in September 2012, where she have gained the majority of her professional planning experience.  Sophie is an active member of both the RTPI and the Planning Institute of Australia (PIA).

A licentiate member of the RTPI, Omar is a graduate of the Institute of Future Cities, Strathclyde University and the Bartlett School of Planning, UCL. Since 2019, Omar has been working as an Urban Planner in the Middle East and Africa division of Atkins, headquartered in Dubai. As part of the business’ Masterplanning, Urban Design and Landscape team, he has worked on a range of strategic, regional and metropolitan planning commissions; produced urban planning and design controls; and supported the design and delivery of high-profile detailed Master Plans across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Azerbaijan and Oman.

Sandy was born and educated in Barbados before going to University in the UK.  After qualifying as a Town Planner she worked in local Government for 39 years before returning to Barbados in 2008.

The majority of her career in the UK was with Stockport Council where she was a Service Director.  During her time at Stockport Sandy had wide ranging management responsibilities in fields as diverse as transportation strategy, property and estate management, environmental health and waste management.  However, the main focus of her career has been on housing and urban regeneration.

Since returning to Barbados she has undertaken consultancy work for the Government of Barbados culminating in the comprehensive review and redrafting of the planning legislation.  In 2014 Sandy was appointed Visiting Planning Inspector by the Government of Bermuda - a post that she still holds.

Sandy is an active member of the Barbados Town Planning Society.

Ian is a Past President of the Royal Town Planning Institute and former Senior Partner of the planning and design consultancy, Barton Willmore LLP.  Following an early career in local government, he joined Barton Willmore in 1986, becoming a Partner in 1990 and Senior Partner from 2004 – 2015.

Since retiring from the consultancy in 2016, Ian has held a number of advisory roles and has devoted considerable time to the RTPI, giving back to the profession that has served him so well.  He was a Board Trustee from 2017 to 2020 and was the President in 2019.  He now serves as the UK Vice President of the Commonwealth Association of Planners, working alongside colleagues throughout the Commonwealth to promote good planning.

Vanessa Watson is Emeritus Professor of City Planning in the School of Architecture, Planning and Geomatics and a founder of the African Centre for Cities, University of Cape Town, South Africa. She holds a PhD from University of Witwatersrand, and is a Fellow of the University of Cape Town.

Research and publication have been on planning theory, African cities and urbanisation, urban food security and planning and corruption. She is Global South Editor of Urban Studies and Special Issues editor of Planning Theory. She was lead consultant for UN Habitat’s 2009 Global Report on Planning Sustainable Cities, was chair of the Global Planning Education Association Network, and a founder of the Association of African Planning Schools.

Recent books are: Battersby J and V Watson eds (2019):  Urban Food Systems Governance and Poverty in African Cities. Routledge, London; De Satge R and V Watson (2018):  Urban Planning in the Global South: Conflicting rationalities in contested urban space, Palgrave; G Bhan, S Srinivas and V Watson eds (2018): Routledge Companion to Planning in the Global South; and Gunder, M., A. Madanipour and V Watson (eds) (2018): The Routledge Handbook of Planning Theory. 

Rebecca believes that town planners whilst visionary, should also be down-to-earth.  She is a strong advocate of balancing development with the environment, heritage and culture preservation.  She currently serves as Council Member of the Hong Kong Institute of Planners (HKIP) and the Co-convenor of the Institute’s External Affairs Committee bridging the planning profession with the development sector. 

Rebecca has more than 30 years of experience in the development and infrastructure field, specialising in major multi-disciplined projects.  She has in-depth knowledge of Hong Kong and the region’s strategic and infrastructural development having first-hand experience in delivering mega projects from the drawing board to reality including railway projects; large-scale commercial and residential developments as well as convention centre and cross boundary ferry terminal projects.

Rebecca is currently the Planning Director for Sun Hung Kai Real Estate Agency, a member of Sun Hung Kai Properties Group.   She had previously worked at MTR Corporation, the Airport Authority Hong Kong and various consultancy firms. She is an alumnus of the University of Melbourne and the Kellogg-HKUST Executive MBA.

Dr Wei Yang FAcSS FRTPI MCIHT is Chair of Wei Yang & Partners, an award-winning master planning firm in London, and an Honorary Professor at University College London. Wei was President of the Royal Town Planning Institute for 2021. She is a lead figure in researching, promoting, and implementing 21st Century Garden City and green & low-carbon development approach worldwide.  Wei is Co-chair of Digital Task Force for Planning and the Global Planners Network (GPN)’s representative at UN Habitat Professional Forum. She champions a revival of spirit and a modernised planning profession to tackle the global challenges in a systematic way, and thus to achieve collective wellbeing and fulfilment for all. Actively promoting joined up thinking between different professionals, Wei is a Fellow of Academy of Social Sciences, an Independent Trustee of the Landscape Institute, a board member of the British Library, and a Board Trustee of Milton Keynes City Discovery Centre.