‘Your thoughts have turned upside down!’ was a remark made by my most respected mentor when I bid him farewell at UCLA where I obtained my PhD degree in urban planning. Coming from a humble family, this transformation of my academic outlook would have been impossible if not for the Fellowship support of the Sir Edward Youde Memorial Fund. I attended UCLA in the late 1980s, a decade after China’s open door policy, dreaming of learning some regional development theories to apply to the development of Hong Kong and the then emerging Pearl River Delta region. During the first lecture on planning theories I was told that such theories did not exist and there were no model answers to the perceived regional development problems. Instead we were encouraged to think through the issues, critically understanding and evaluating them from different perspectives to develop people-centred and environmentally friendly solutions. My academic training at UCLA has significantly influenced my teaching philosophy and research work. The experience has convinced me of the importance of encouraging my students to be fearless knowledge seekers, challenging knowledge boundaries and developing original, critical and transdisciplinary understanding and thinking. It has also inspired me to conduct research directed at empowering the most disadvantaged of society and promoting social and spatial justice, to support an urbanism that nurtures the environment and healthy human relationships.

Here, I would particularly like to thank Lady Youde who has become a beloved and well-respected friend since her personal visit when I was at UCLA. She is a cherished role model when it comes to her love for all ‘Youders’. I am forever indebted to the Sir Edward Youde Memorial Fund for facilitating my further education at UCLA and the endearing friendship of Lady Youde that have shaped me into the person I am today.