Welcome to diagonalWorks
You might have noticed some changes around here!
diagonalWorks is Diagonal’s new name, and it accompanies a change in direction for the company. Our focus will now be purely on consultancy, rather than product development, and is accompanied by a new strategic direction and refined mission.
What’s new?
To date many places have been planned in ways that only serve a small section of the population.
Our consultancy seeks to support data-driven inclusive place strategy and design. Our work will continue to be underpinned by geospatial analysis tools we have built, to deliver transparent, repeatable and scalable place-based analysis.
Our new, strategic service offering includes:
- Development impact analysis
- Strategic planning advice
- Inclusive urbanism exploration
- Bespoke urban analytics
We are excited to join a growing community of organisations determined to drive positive change and support places to become better for everyone, places which empower people to thrive. And we are confident in the new direction and new mission: to support more equitable urban environments for all.
Why now?
To quote the Digital Taskforce for Planning 2022 report, ‘We have now entered an era of ‘digital by default’ and this is becoming increasingly true for built environment disciplines. The development of new digital platforms and recognition of the importance of data, enable a more holistic, inclusive and systems-based approach to spatial planning.
Furthermore the new Labour government, in its ‘Proposed Reforms to the National Planning Policy Framework and other changes to the planning system’ has highlighted a commitment to ‘universal coverage of strategic planning, which will require the development of Strategic Development Strategies (SDSs) across the whole of England. This will be informed by consultation with local leaders, the wider sector and include ‘consideration of the capacity and capabilities needed such as geospatial data and digital tools.’ (MHCLG, 2024, Chapter 3 - para 26).
diagonalWorks combines geospatial and urban analytics skills with strategic planning expertise. We understand the power of technology and multidisciplinary approaches in order to support more holistic, transparent and auditable decisions. We are uniquely placed to support the growth of a digitally enabled spatial planning system.
In addition, we are keen to support the movement towards the delivery of more inclusive places and we can do that by using data, informed by research, to understand the potential impact of strategies and developments on different communities.
The team
Gala is diagonalWorks’ Urban Data Science lead, providing, among other things, data and urban analytics expertise. She co-founded Diagonal and has since been the main user (and tester!) of our open source geospatial computation engine, b6. Gala is currently Geovation Scotland Entrepreneur in Residence and convenor of Geomob Edinburgh events.
Veronica is diagonalWorks’ Planning and new business lead, leveraging years of working across sectors on complex multidisciplinary briefs, to provide strategic planning advice. She is also a member of the Academy of Urbanism, sits on the Design West Design Review Panel and is one of the organisers of Bristol’s ‘Rise Collective’ networking sessions (with pals from McGregor Coxall and Spratley + Partners).
Claire leads additional strategy and partnership development at diagonalWorks. She is currently based in San Francisco and serves as a non-executive director at Walk SF.
We would struggle to share our work and messaging without our communication lead Lucy’s support. She is a writer and multi-hyphenate comms specialist and all-round wordsmith!
Working with us
We are looking to continue to expand our networks and support projects with our combined expertise.
We would love to hear from you if you would like to discuss potential collaboration opportunities or to find out more about our work. You can email us, book a call with Gala or Veronica, or meet us for coffee (location dependent!).