Royal Town Planning Institute

The Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) is the professional body representing planners in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It promotes and develops policy affecting planning and the built environment. Founded in 1914, the institute was granted a royal charter in 1959. In 2018 it reported that it had over 25,000 members.

Origins
Following the Housing, Town Planning, &c. Act 1909, surveyors, civil engineers, architects, lawyers and others began working together within local government in the UK to draw up schemes for the development of land. The idea of town planning as a new and distinctive area of expertise began to be formed. In 1910, Thomas Adams was appointed as the first Town Planning Inspector at the Local Government Board, and began having meetings with practitioners. In November 1913, a meeting was convented of interested professionals to establish a new Institute, and Adams was elected as the group's president. The Town Planning Institute (TPI) was launched with an inaugural dinner in January 1914, and it was formally established on 4 September 1914 when its Articles of Association were signed. The first three of the Articles of Association were:
 * To advance the study of town-planning, civic design and kindred subjects, and of the arts and sciences as applied to those subjects;
 * To promote the artistic and scientific development of towns and cities;
 * To secure the association, and to promote the general interests of those engaged or interested in the practice of town-planning.

In 1928 the institute elected its first female professional member, Jocelyn Frere Adburgham, and in 1959 received its royal charter, then becoming the Royal Town Planning Institute.

Functions
The RTPI currently states that it is:
 * A membership organization and a Chartered Institute responsible for maintaining professional standards and accrediting world class planning courses nationally and internationally.
 * A charity whose charitable purpose is to advance the science and art of planning (including town and country and spatial planning) for the benefit of the public.
 * A learned society.

Members
The institute supports its membership through professional development, education and training for future planners. Fellows are entitled the use of the post-nominals FRTPI and chartered members may use MRTPI. In March 2012, it reported that it had over 23,000 members, of which 8,000 were women and 15,000 men. These included 1,100 international members, across 82 countries. There are currently eight membership classes:


 * Student For full or part-time students on courses related to planning or the built environment.
 * Licentiate Licentiate membership is the main pathway to qualify as a Chartered Town Planner.
 * Member Chartered membership signifies that its holder has knowledge, skills and competence in spatial planning in appropriate depth and detail. Members may use the post-nominals MRTPI.
 * Fellow Fellowship is the organisations most prestigious accolade and recognises those who have made a major contribution to the profession. Fellows may use the post-nominals FRTPI.
 * Legal Associate For qualified legal practitioners who specialise and have experience in planning law.
 * Affiliate For people who have an interest in planning or are working in planning but are not yet qualified for other membership classes.
 * Retired For those no longer practicing or earning an income from planning.

Governance
The RTPI is governed by a General Assembly and a board of trustees. The General Assembly is responsible for the development of planning policy and practice. The board of trustees is responsible for managing the affairs of the RTPI as a chartered body and registered charity.

Research
The RTPI promotes research activity underpinning and evaluating planning practice, theory and education. The RTPI holds an annual awards ceremony recognising excellence in the field of planning and urban design.

Planning Aid
The RTPI runs Planning Aid in England, outside London where Planning Aid for London operates. There is a linked organization, Planning Aid Wales. Planning Aid provides free, independent and professional planning advice to communities and individuals who cannot afford to pay consultant fees. It was established by the Town and Country Planning Association in 1973 and involves volunteers working on casework and community planning activities.

Presidents
A full list of presidents is set out below. The first president, in 1914, was Thomas Adams. The first female president, in 1974, was Sylvia Law.


 * 1914 Thomas Adams
 * 1915 Sir Raymond Unwin
 * 1916 John William Cockrill
 * 1917 Edmund Rushworth Abbot
 * 1918 Stanley Davenport Adshead
 * 1919 George Lionel Pepler
 * 1920 Henry Edward Stilgoe
 * 1921 Robert Armstrong Reay-Neadin
 * 1922 Henry Vaughan Lanchester
 * 1923 Thomas Hayton Mawson
 * 1924 William Thomas Lancashire
 * 1925 Sir Patrick Abercrombie
 * 1926 William Robert Davidge
 * 1927 George Montagu Harris
 * 1928 Edward Willis
 * 1929 Richard Barry Parker
 * 1930 Frederick William Platt
 * 1931 Richard Cowdy Maxwell
 * 1932 Francis Longstreth Thompson
 * 1933 Thomas Alwyn Lloyd
 * 1934 Sir Herbert Humphries
 * 1935 Maj. Leslie Roseveare
 * 1936 Ernest Gladstone Allen
 * 1937 Ewart Gladstone Culpin
 * 1938 Joshua Edward Acfield
 * 1939 William Harding Thompson
 * 1940 Oswald Alfred Radley
 * 1941 Robert Henry Mattocks
 * 1942 Col. William Spottiswoode Cameron
 * 1943 William Dobson Chapman
 * 1944 Sir Thomas Peirson Frank
 * 1945 Thomas Wilfred Sharp
 * 1946 Henry William James Heck
 * 1947 Sir James Reginald Howard Roberts
 * 1948 James Whirter Renwick Adams
 * 1949 Sir George Lionel Pepler
 * 1950 Lt-Col. Henry Philip Cart De Lafontaine
 * 1951 Ernest Hone Ford
 * 1952 Samuel Leslie George Beaufoy
 * 1953 Lord Holford
 * 1954 Ernest Harvey Doubleday
 * 1955 Sir Desmond Heap
 * 1956 Maurice James Hellier
 * 1957 Bernard John Collins
 * 1958 Udolphus Aylmer Coates
 * 1959 Joseph Stanley Allen
 * 1960 Rowland Nicholas
 * 1961 John Jefferson
 * 1962 Denis Wearing Riley
 * 1963 Sir Colin Douglas Buchanan
 * 1964 Leslie William Lane
 * 1965 Lewis Bingham Keeble
 * 1966 Nathaniel Lichfield
 * 1967 Sir Wilfred Burns
 * 1968 Arthur George Ling
 * 1969 Phipps Turnbull
 * 1970 Walter George Bor
 * 1971 Francis John Clarke Amos
 * 1972 John Stanley Millar
 * 1973 Graham William Ashworth
 * 1974 Sylvia Law
 * 1975 Ewart West Parkinson
 * 1976 Sir John Keyworth Boynton
 * 1977 Tom Clarke
 * 1978 Gordon Cherry
 * 1979 Geoffrey Booth
 * 1980 John Frederick Norman Collins
 * 1982 Andrew Thorburn
 * 1983 John Edgar Finney
 * 1984 John Stewart Anderson
 * 1985 Stephen Philip Byrne
 * 1986 George McDonic
 * 1987 John Dean
 * 1988 Francis Tibbalds
 * 1989 Chris Shepley
 * 1990 Robin Thompson
 * 1991 Peter Fidler
 * 1992 Michael Welbank
 * 1993 Martin Bradshaw
 * 1994 Hazel McKay
 * 1995 Jed Griffiths
 * 1996 Cliff Hague
 * 1997 William Anthony Keith Struthers
 * 1998 Trevor Roberts
 * 1999 Brian Raggett
 * 2000 Kevin Murray
 * 2001 Nick Davies
 * 2002 Mike Haslam
 * 2003 Vincent Goodstadt
 * 2004 Mike Hayes
 * 2005 Ron Tate
 * 2006 Clive Harridge
 * 2007 Jim Claydon
 * 2008 Janet O'Neill
 * 2009 Martin Willey
 * 2010 Ann Skippers
 * 2011 Richard Summers
 * 2012 Colin Haylock
 * 2013 Peter Geraghty
 * 2014 Cath Ranson
 * 2015 Janet Askew
 * 2016 Phil Williams
 * 2017 Stephen Wilkinson
 * 2018 John Acres
 * 2019 Ian Tant
 * 2020 Sue Manns
 * 2021 Wei Yang
 * 2022 Timothy David Crawshaw
 * 2023 Sue Bridge

Gold Medal
The RTPI's most prestigious award is its gold medal. It is awarded at the discretion of the RTPI for outstanding achievement in the field of town and country planning. There have been 15 recipients of the Gold Medal since its inception in 1953. It's been awarded to:


 * 1953 Sir George Pepler
 * 1955 Sir Patrick Abercrombie
 * 1957 Lewis Mumford
 * 1961 Sir William Holford
 * 1963 Sir Frederic Osborn
 * 1967 Sir Colin Buchanan
 * 1971 Lord Lewis Silkin
 * 1974 Sir Robert Grieve
 * 1978 Sir Frederick Gibberd
 * 1983 Sir Desmond Heap
 * 2003 Sir Peter Hall
 * 2006 Professor Patsy Healy
 * 2013 Alison Nimmo
 * 2016 Professor Michael Batty
 * 2017 Sir Terry Farrell