The Peach Lecture

This free lecture will be held in Lecture Theatre 2 in the Bob Burgess Building (Freemen’s Common) at the University of Leicester and will be followed by a drinks reception.

Dr Wei Yang, FAcSS, FRTPI
Past President of the Royal Town Planning Institute 2021, Chair of Wei Yang & Partners, Honorary Professor at UCL

Dr Wei Yang is an internationally renowned town planner and urban designer who champions a place-based whole systems approach to tackle the grand challenges of our times. She is an influential thought leader and a powerful advocate for climate actions, nature-based solutions, health & well-being, and social equality. Wei was President for 2021 of the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI). Wei is a lead figure in researching, promoting, and implementing 21st Century Garden City and green & low-carbon development approach worldwide. She is co-author of a bestselling book, Humanistic Pure Land and Garden Cities (Shi & Yang, 2021). Wei is also co-founder and co-chair of the Digital Task Force for Planning and co-author of A Digital Future for Planning – Spatial Planning Reimagined (Batty & Yang, 2022) which outlines blueprint for digital transformation of spatial planning and the sector’s future. She is a Fellow of Academy of Social Sciences, a Fellow of the RTPI, a Member of Chartered Institute of Highway and Transportation (CHIT), a Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) Client Advisor, and an Honorary Professor at the Bartlett Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis, University College London.

Summary: The talk will review the origins of the modern planning profession – the Garden City movement, it’s pioneers and their spirit. It will introduce the concept of 21^st Century Garden City model which captures the essence of the original Garden City ideas, but adapts them to a more complex, 21st century context, promoting sustainability, tackling climate change and utilising smart technologies. The talk will also explore how to modernise the planning profession by forging a common sense of purpose with the wider society thus to create a balanced system for people, nature and society to co-exist in harmony.

Attending the lecture

The free lecture is open to members of the public. It is being hosted by the University of Leicester.

• To attend in person: online booking has now closed, but you can still attend by simply turning up. (The booking system was only to enable the University to judge the catering required for the post-lecture reception.)

• To watch the lecture on Zoom please register on EventBrite: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-peach-lecture-21st-century-garden-cities-watch-online-registration-535798617087 Please note that the lecture is streamed on a best efforts basis.