The J. W. R. Whitehand Prize for the Best PhD Thesis in Urban Morphology is awarded biennially by the International Seminar on Urban Form to recognise the best recent doctoral thesis in the field. The evaluation is based on innovation, quality and rigour, reflecting central characteristics of J. W. R. Whitehand’s own scholarship. The second edition of the prize, awarded in 2024, was presented to Dr Yanhui Shi for her thesis, A cross-cultural comparative study of urban form, China and the UK, completed at the University of Birmingham. Selected by the jury from a number of notable submissions, the thesis was recognised for its excellence and contribution to urban morphology. The award was publicly announced at the annual ISUF conference held in São Paulo in September 2024.