Dr Wei Yang is inaugurated as the President of the Royal Town Planning Institute
20 Jan 2021
On 20th Jan 2021, Dr Wei Yang was inaugurated as the 107th President of the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI).
At her inauguration ceremony which was streamed live on YouTube, Dr Wei Yang delivered her inaugural presidential speech, ‘Planning is Great – Call for a revival of spirit and for a modernised planning profession’.
The world needs a modernised, strengthened planning profession able to proactively address the challenges of the 21st century, the new President of the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) has said.
The ceremony was watched by RTPI members and others with an interest in planning, including representatives from some of the world’s leading planning bodies.
Dr Yang highlighted the RTPI’s global reach, and said that a strong planning profession was essential to tackle the climate and biodiversity emergency. She said lessons, both positive and negative, must be learned from the Covid-19 pandemic and that a re-invigorated planning system would be a vital component of an inclusive and green recovery and town planners must ‘take the lead’ on enabling the built environment to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Dr Yang said: “I believe the fundamental objective of the planning profession is to create a balanced system for people, nature and society to co-exist in harmony.
“Let’s be objective and courageous in reimagining our planning profession. Let’s reconnect with nature, rethink urban prosperity, redefine beauty, re-engage with technology - we need a genuine modernisation of our profession to serve the world now and in the future.
“Facing our current challenges and the journey of this century, it is our generation’s responsibility to rekindle the spirit of town planning pioneers such as Octavia Hill, Ebenezer Howard and Thomas Adams. We can work towards a new professional standard for planning to be a global force for good.
“A modernised planning profession with a global vision is a profession for hope and for the future. It is about faith in our ability to act together.”
Many of the UK’s built environment organisations and other members of the global planning community offered Dr Yang their congratulations during her inauguration.
>> Watch the 2021 RTPI Presidential inauguration ceremony in full on YouTube
>> Read Dr Wei Yang's inaugural presidential speech, ‘Planning is Great – Call for a revival of spirit and for a modernised planning profession’.
