Projects on heritage, build-to-rent housing, walkability and improving streets, have also been shortlisted, reflecting the diversity of issues research is currently trying to improve planning practice on.

Twenty research projects – up nearly 20% on last year - are competing across five categories: Planning Consultancy Award, Academic Award, Early Career Researcher Award, Student Award, and the Sir Peter Hall Award for Wider Engagement.

The Awards recognise and promote high quality, impactful spatial planning research from RTPI accredited planning schools, and planning consultancies around the world. This year’s shortlist includes research from across the UK, Hong Kong, China, South Africa, Canada and Ireland.

Tom Kenny, RTPI’s acting deputy head of policy and research, said: “Each year we’ve run the RTPI Awards for Research Excellence the quality and variety of entries has grown. The Awards are one way the Institute is helping to promote outstanding research and ensure it helps to improve planning practice across the UK and Ireland.”

The winners will be announced during the Planning Research Conference in Sheffield, held from September 3-5.

Full shortlist

Academic Award

Ben Clifford, Jessica Ferm, Nicola Livingstone, Patricia Canelas (Bartlett School of Planning, University College London)

Chinmoy Sarkar (Healthy High Density Cities Lab, HKUrbanLab, The University of Hong Kong), Chris Webster (HKUrbanLab, The University of Hong Kong), Chris Webster (Healthy High Density Cities Lab, HKUrbanLab, The University of Hong Kong), John Gallacher (Department of Psychiatry, Oxford University)

Xingang Zhou (College of Architecture and Urban Planning, Tongji University, and; Department of Urban Planning and Design, The University of Hong Kong), Anthony G. O. Yeh (Department of Urban Planning and Design, The University of Hong Kong), Yang Yue (School of Architecture and Urban Planning, Shenzhen University)

Matthew Carmona, Tommaso Gabrieli, Robin Hickman, Terpsi Laopoulou, Nicola Livingstone (Bartlett School of Planning, University College London)

Student Award

Schalk Willem van Heerden (School of Architecture, Planning and Geomatics, University of Cape Town)

Carol Algar (School of Architecture and Design, University of Brighton)

Rob Mason (Department of Urban Studies and Planning, University of Sheffield)

Jason Matthew Slade (Department of Urban Studies and Planning, University of Sheffield)

Early Career Award

Sina Shahab (School of Architecture, Planning and Environmental Policy, University College Dublin), J. Peter Clinch (Geary Institute, University College Dublin), Eoin O’Neill (University College Dublin)

Tom Goodfellow (Department of Urban Studies and Planning, University of Sheffield)

Maxwell D. Hartt (Cardiff University), Samantha Biglieri (School of Planning, University of Waterloo)

Xingjian Liu, Jiangping Zhou (Department of Urban Planning and Design, University of Hong Kong)

Sir Peter Hall Award

Gemma Jerome (Gloucester Wildlife Trust and the Centre for Sustainable Planning and Environments, University of the West of England), Danielle Sinnett, Nick Smith, Tom Calvert, Sarah Burgess, Louise King (Centre for Sustainable Planning and Environments, University of the West of England)

Peter Phillips, Paula Orr, Izzy Cotton (Collingwood Environmental Planning), Jasper Kenter, Jake Ainscough, Lucy Greenhill (Scottish Association for Marine Science Research Services Limited), Ellie Murtagh, Philip Mellor (University of Strathclyde)

Gavin Parker and Emma Street (Department of Real Estate and Planning, University of Reading)

Richard Gale (School of Geography and Planning, Cardiff University), Andrew Rogers (Department of Humanities, University of Roehampton)

Consultancy Award

Peter Phillips, Paula Orr, Izzy Cotton (Collingwood Environmental Planning), Jasper Kenter, Jake Ainscough, Lucy Greenhill (Scottish Association for Marine Science Research Services Limited), Ellie Murtagh, Philip Mellor (University of Strathclyde)

Iain Rhind, Joe Sarling (Lichfields)

Helen Pineo (BRE and Institute for Environmental Design and Engineering, UCL), Simon Bevan, Andrew Ruck, Clizia Deidda (Southwark Council)

Joe Sarling, Martin Taylor (Lichfields)