Wei Yang

Wei Yang OBE (born 1974) is a Chinese-British town planner, urban designer, author, and scholar. She is the founder of Wei Yang & Partners and the co-founder and CEO of the Digital Task Force for Planning and for promoting integrated thinking across the built and natural environment sectors. Leading the modernisation and digital transformation of the planning profession, she developed a digitally enabled methodology for spatial planning. She champions a revival of spirit for a modernised planning profession , emphasising systemic approaches to global challenges and the pursuit of collective wellbeing.

She is an Honorary Professor at University College London , a board member of the British Library, and a member of UN Habitat World Urban Campaign Steering Committee. From 2023 to 2025 she chaired the Construction Industry Council in the UK.

In September 2024, Yang was appointed to the UK Government's New Towns Taskforce, whose Report to Government (New Towns Taskforce, 2025) was published on 28 September 2025.

Yang was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2025 New Year Honours for services to town planning.

Early life and education Wei Yang was born in Beijing. She studied urban planning at Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology, receiving a bachelor's degree in 1996. Between 1996 and 1997, she volunteered with the Chinese vernacular architecture Research Group led by architectural historian Professor Chen Zhihua at Tsinghua University.

From 1999 to 2005, Yang studied at the University of Sheffield, earning a master of science degree in 2001 and a doctor of philosophy degree in 2005 from the School of Architecture. Her doctoral research: An aesthetic approach to the soundscape of urban public open spaces formed part of the EU-funded RUROS project (Rediscovering the Urban Realm and Open Spaces).

Career In 2004, while completing her PhD, Yang joined David Lock Associates in Milton Keynes. In 2011, she founded Wei Yang & Partners in London, a practice specialising in integrated master planning and knowledge exchange between research and practice.

In 2011, Yang initiated self-funded research on the 21st Century Garden City, adapting the principles of the original Garden City movement to contemporary challenges and opportunities such as climate change, an aging society, and technological innovation.

Her work, undertaken in response to emerging needs in the field, preceded the UK Government’s 2014 Garden City proposals. The research had led to the success of Wei Yang & Partners in winning the Wolfson Economics Finalist Prize in 2014. The competition final report, New Garden Cities: Visionary, Economically Viable and Popular was cited in The Lyons Housing Review: Mobilising Across the Nation to Build the Homes our Children Need. In the field of practical work, Wei Yang & Partners have delivered many master planning projects in the UK and China utilising 21st Century Garden City approach.

Yang is also a key figure in promoting green & low-carbon development approach in China. From 2013 to 2016, she co-chaired the UK-China Eco-Cities & Green Building Group. Between 2013 and 2014, she was seconded by the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) as British Principal Planning Expert to advise the Chinese Ministry of Housing & Urban-Rural Development (MoHURD) on sustainable urbanisation. She also gave expert advice to Progressing Eco-City Policies into Mainstream Practice in China project in 2012, and ‘the Europe-China Eco-Cities Link (EC-Link)’ project in 2013. From 2015 to 2017, she led the UK-China pilot project on ‘the Green & Low-Carbon Development of Small Towns in China’, and was lead author of The Technical Manual for Green & Low-Carbon Development of Small Towns in China.

In 2014, Yang was elected as a World Cities Summit Young Leader by Singapore, and was named as the Planner's Women of Influence in 2017, 2018.

In 2017, recognising her innovative work and actions in promoting joined up thinking between different built environment professionals , she was conferred as a Fellow of Academy of Social Sciences (AcSS). In 2018, she was conferred as a Fellow of the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI). In her Manifesto, she stated that ‘I want to champion a revival of spirit for our profession by enhancing public appreciation, strengthening international collaboration on capacity building, and contributing to immediate actions on the climate and biodiversity emergency. I am also keen to do more to engage young planners and adopt new technologies to empower the modernisation.’

In August 2020, several suggestions Yang made to the Chinese Ministry of Natural Resources was adopted in their consultation paper - Planning Guidance for Metropolitan Areas (August 2020) including: 'A strategic and long-term urban-rural integrated approach; A single digital base map containing all-natural, ecological, socio-economic, demographic, cultural & heritage, infrastructure, pollution, agricultural, climate change impact, and hazards information; An emphasis on the public service purpose of planning and strengthening public engagement; Urban design and place-making to be embedded in the whole plan-making process; Integration of a blue & green landscape framework in urban developments, bringing the beauty of nature into cities, developing distinctive local characters; Creating pedestrian friendly walkable neighbourhoods, and human-scale public open spaces.'

Yang was inaugurated as RTPI President on 20 January 2021. In her Presidential Inaugural Address, in early 2021 with Professor Michael Batty, Chairman of Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis, University College London. The mission of the Task Force is to promote an integrated digitally informed approach to Town & Country Planning. The Task Force examined 'how the planning profession and its education can embrace the digital revolution in a more thorough and proactive way to empower planners with new skills to tackle the grand challenges of our times for public interest'. outlined blueprint for digital transformation of spatial planning and the sector's future. Keen for a shift to a ‘whole systems’ approach to tackle the grand challenges, the report put digitally enabled spatial planning at the forefront. Emphasis is placed on planners' leadership and collaboration with like-minded professionals across the built and natural environment sectors to achieve common goals.

Leading the modernisation and digital transformation of the planning profession, Yang developed a new digitally-enabled integrated methodology for spatial planning, The income of the book was donated to Fo Guang Shan Education Foundation to fund education for children from disadvantaged background.

In September 2024, Yang was appointed to the UK Government's New Towns Taskforce, It was recognised by the UK Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government as "a milestone moment for the UK’s planning sector".

Yang is an honorary professor at University College London and a member of UN Habitat World Urban Campaign Steering Committee. (2011–2014) Co-chair of the UK-China Eco-Cities & Green Building Group (2013–2016) President of the Royal Town Planning Institute (2021) Board Trustee, the Landscape Institute (2018-2022) Board Trustee, Milton Keynes City Discovery Centre (2010-2022)