Professor Cecilia Wong has been awarded the RTPI Gold Medal, one of the highest honours in the planning profession, at the Royal Town Planning Institute’s General Assembly on 22 April.

The Gold Medal, 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 its history.

Presenting the award, Jan Bessell praised Professor Wong’s significant contributions to the field, highlighting her leadership, mentorship, and influential body of scholarship. Her seminal publications and work on key planning texts were also recognised as shaping modern planning thought and practice.

In response to receipt of the Award, Professor Wong stated: “It is a tremendous honour to receive the Gold Medal from the Royal Town Planning Institute. 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.”