Dr. Stephen Appiah Takyi is a distinguished planning educator whose research spans environmental planning, sustainability, urban development, strategic and policy planning. Dr. Takyi believes in the integration of economic, social, and environmental goals through multidisciplinary approaches to address complex societal challenges. Stephen’s academic path progressed from a bachelor's in Development Planning at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi, Ghana, to a master's in Urban and Regional Planning at Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario, and a Ph.D. in Natural Resource and Environmental Studies from the University of Northern British Columbia.

Professional Experience
Dr. Takyi taught courses such as Introduction to Planning and Environmental Impact Assessment at the University of Northern British Columbia's School of Environmental Planning from 2012 to 2016. Within the same period, Stephen managed the editorial desk of the Journal of Architectural and Planning Research and also served as a Writing Tutor at UNBC's Academic Success Center. During his studies at Queen’s University, Stephen held roles in marketing and communication at the Marketing and Communications Department. Currently, Dr. Takyi is a Senior Lecturer in KNUST's Department of Planning.

Consultancy Experience
Dr. Takyi has consulted for entities including the World Bank, USAID, Newmont Ghana Gold Limited, Solidaridad West Africa, and Metropolitan, Municipal and District assemblies in Ghana. Recent projects that Stephen served as technical team member include a 2025 perception survey for Newmont, mid-term evaluations for the MASO cocoa youth program and USAID's IPIMFS maize initiative, and the preparation of strategic plans for some units in KNUST and the Fapim Company Limited. Stephen’s expertise covers environmental impact assessment, strategic planning, spatial analysis, urban sustainability, policy and development planning.

Teaching Philosophy
Dr. Takyi equips students as interdisciplinary advocates and change agents, evolving planners into policy influencers. Stephen’s societal laboratory approach fosters experiential learning in planning and community development. Stephen has supervised 4 Ph.D., 5 MPhil, 50 MSc, and 114 undergraduate students.

Ongoing Research
Dr. Takyi's ongoing research focuses on smart cities in the Ghanaian context, child-friendly cities, the invisible powers behind illegal mining, forest reserve sustainability in the face of illegal mining, African urbanism, wetland gentrification in cities in the global south and conceptualizing eco-hypocrisy in the Ghanaian context.

Key Achievements
• Published over 80 peer-reviewed articles
• 2017 second-best paper award from African Geographical Review for “Comparative Study of Capital City Elements: Ghana and Nigeria.”
• Named Best Candidate by Ghana Institute of Planners (2019)
• KNUST Research Fund, Principal Investigator (2020).
• Science and Communications Awards (2022–2025) from Conversation Africa
• Vice President, Ghana Institute of Planning (2023–2025)
• Fellow, Ghana Institute of Planning.