Celebrating Vanessa Watson (1950 – 2021)

We celebrate the work and contribution of Vanessa Watson, a Special Issue Editor of Planning Theory (2018 – 2021). Vanessa was a world-renowned planning theorist, also keenly interested in planning practices in the global South. In this piece, three of us who have known Vanessa in different capacities have come together to remember her and her contributions to the planning discipline and the planning community of scholars. Dr Tanja Winkler, Associate Professor at the UCT School of Architecture, Planning & Geomatics, South Africa was a colleague of Vanessa. She introduces Vanessa and talks about her memories of Vanessa Watson as a valued colleague. Dr James Duminy, Lecturer at the School of Geographical Sciences, University of Bristol in the United Kingdom was a colleague and PhD student of Vanessa. He reflects on Vanessa as a PhD supervisor and mentor. Prof. Angelique Chettiparamb, Professor of Planning and Governance at the University of Reading, United Kingdom talks about Vanessa as a colleague in the management of this journal and her legacy within planning theory.