My interest in the built environment stems from my studies in geography. What most fascinated me during my degree was urban theory and the study of how cities function. I am particularly interested in the economics, policy and governance of cities – and the impacts these have on the way people experience and live in them.
As an economist, I use socio-economic data analysis as a starting point for all the work that I do. I leverage data to try to get under the skin of a place, provide clients with a new perspective, and use it as a basis to tell a story. Having worked at the scale of a single building or organisation – such as a recent funding application for a museum redevelopment – has given me a focus on deliverability that I carry across to strategies for projects at a town or city scale.
My work spans strategy development and case making. Alongside this, I have had the opportunity to advise on place visioning projects. The ‘blue skies’ thinking of place visioning has given me a new and more creative lens through which to approach place economics.