Professor Michael Batty receives RTPI Gold Medal

The Gold Medal is awarded once every two years to individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to the field of planning.

Professor Batty is the most highly cited urban planner in the world, with over 21,000 citations to his work. In 1995 he set up Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis (CASA) at UCL, which has become a powerful and world-leading research centre in the application of new methods of computation and complexity. He is Emeritus Professor of Planning at The Bartlett, and chair of CASA.

The criteria for recognising outstanding achievement fall into three broad categories: Ideas, Practice and Professional Service. Professor Batty was chosen for his huge contribution to the science and art of city planning, in particular his work in urban science and mathematical modeling of spatial structures.

He was presented the Gold Medal by the RTPI’s Vice President at the annual Nathaniel Lichfield Lecture, which Professor Batty delivered. The lecture was entitled "The Planning Balance Sheet 60 Years On: Evaluation in the Digital Age".