Dr Peter Cookson Smith has been resident in Hong Kong since 1977 when he founded URBIS – the first planning, urban design and landscape consultancy in the Territory, that has over the years won 300 local and international awards for their work in Hong Kong, Mainland China, and other parts of Asia.  He was one of the first overseas professionals to work on projects commissioned by the Chinese Government after the Reforms of 1978.  He is a Past President of the Hong Kong Institute of Planners, and the Hong Kong Institute of Urban Design, a member of the Royal Town Planning Institute and an Honorary Member of the American Institute of Architects.  He is also a Past Professor in the Faculty of Architecture, the University of Hong Kong; a Visiting Scholar at the HKU Centre for Asian Studies; and an Adjunct Professor at the Chinese University.  Over the years he has also been appointed to a number of government planning committees and design commissions, including the Strategic Development Commission.

His books, written and illustrated over the past fifteen years include The Urban Design of Impermanence (2006, 2011), The Urban Design of Concession (2011), The Urban Design of Intervention (2014) - published by MCCM Creations, and Seeking Savannah (2018), An Enterprising Path to Barrio Chino (2020), and After Dante: Divine, Design and The Cosmos (2021) - published by ORO Books. The books are illustrated by his own drawings and sketches which convey not just static images but a “spirit of place”.

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