Diagonal
Journal

Meet the panel for Diagonal’s session at UKREiiF

Lucy Brett
May 2024
events

It is our pleasure to reveal more about the speakers and the session which will take place on the UKREiiF Campus in Leeds City Centre, at the Barton Suite site, on 21 May 2024 at 13:00.

Alongside introducing Skyline, our new data visualisation tool, we will be demonstrating its features and hosting a panel to explore topics such as the built environment’s challenges and opportunities, the significance of collaboration across sectors, and the contribution of the innovation ecosystem. We will also discuss the impact of digital technology on urban design.

Chris Outtersides, Head of Planning Strategy, Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, from DLUHC will start the session with a brief on the progress of geospatial innovation in the UK.

After this Veronica Barbaro, Principal Planner at Diagonal, will lead the session, joined by experts with invaluable knowledge and experience:

To find out more about each of our speakers click on the links or read the short biographical information below.

Additionally, our team will be present at a dedicated stand. We invite you to stop by booth A40 in New Dock Hall for a personal discussion about Skyline and our broader range of projects. If you’d like to arrange a meeting or simply catch up, please reach out to us at hello@diagonal.works.

Join the conversation and connect with us about our new #Product and discuss #Planning, #Infrastructure, #Urban development, #Cities, #Data analysis, #SyntheticPopulations at UKREiiF or get in touch via hello@diagonal.works to talk more about Skyline and becoming an early adopter. We’re looking forward to engaging with you.

For further information about our session and to book tickets please visit UKREiiF.

Veronica Barbaro, Principal Planner at Diagonal

Veronica is passionate about cities and positive place-making. She is a chartered Town Planner and brings over 10 years of experience working with major international consultancies (most recently Avison Young and Atkins) on significant infrastructure and regeneration projects including HS2 and key city centre schemes (e.g. Finzels Reach, Bristol and Redcliffe Quarter, Bristol). Veronica has a robust understanding of the development management process as well as development economics and viability considerations. She is an experienced project manager, having led and managed the submission of major planning applications for a range of clients, from both private and public sectors working with large multi-disciplinary teams and complex budgets. She is also a regular contributor to The Planner.

Tim Fendley, Founder, CEO & Creative Director, Applied

Founder and Creative Director of Applied, Tim is a designer with over 30 years experience creating innovative wayfinding systems for some of the world’s most important cities, campuses and cultural institutions. Tim is devoted to helping people discover more, be braver and feel less lost. Tim’s company Applied creates projects which push the boundaries of information design and make our cities and communities more understandable. For example, Legible London. Tim is also a tireless speaker and campaigner for the development of accessible wayfinding systems for public places including at the London School of Economics, Reading University, Sign Design Society and the International Institute for Information Design in Vienna. Tim is also an advisor to the Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design at the Royal College of Art, and an editorial board member of IIID. He has established cultural conference programs for TYPO and POINT and founded Living Map – a mapping technology company designed to deliver public access to Smart City initiatives.

Camilla Siggaard Andersen, Research Lead, Hassell

Camilla leads urban resilience research at Hassell, bringing together data and design to unlock social, economic, and ecological outcomes for people and place. Her experience includes working at the urban quality consultancy Gehl in Copenhagen and New York where she managed placemaking projects and led the development the Open Public Life Data Protocol, teaching Strategies for Urban Liveability at DIS, and working as a lead designer in Arup’s Digital Studio, a multi-disciplinary strategic and UX design team. She joined joined Hassell in 2021. Through her experiences of working with cities and technology companies worldwide, she has developed new ideas, concepts, and solutions for how to use research and digital technology to design more innovative, sustainable, and human-centred places. Between 2022-23, Camilla managed the GLA’s Property X-Change knowledge sharing platform and she currently chairs the New London Architecture’s Built Environment Technology Panel. Her recent research contributions include “Close to Home: Exploring 15-Minute Urban Living”, “Corridors: Designing Linear Infrastructure in a Non-Linear World”, and “Blurred Lines: Planning for Societal Change and Digital Disruption in the Built Environment”.

Duncan Welberry, Head of IT Business Partnering, Associated British Ports

Duncan is an experienced technology leader across the Ports and Retail sectors delivering impactful transformational change. Currently leading on data transformation at ABP showcasing story telling through data visualisation. Have been at the forefront of deploying innovative 5G, IoT, AI and networking solutions as part of digitising ABP.

Jennifer Hartley, Director of Invest Newcastle, NewcastleGateshead Initiative, and Head of Economic Development, Newcastle City Council

As Director of Invest Newcastle, Jen works to attract new businesses, investment and job opportunities to the city region. She has many years experience and is responsible for developing and delivering inward investment activity for Newcastle, Gateshead and the North of Tyne Combined Authority and has led a number of campaigns to bring global organisations to the North East. Jen is also Head of Economic Development at Newcastle City Council, working to ensure that the benefits of economic growth are shared widely and opportunities are accessible to everyone. She is also a board member of the North East digital technology cluster, Dynamo, Vice Chair of Ouseburn Farm Charity, an advisory board member of the UK Real Estate Investment and Infrastructure Forum (UKREiiF) and a board trustee of Newcastle Cathedral Trust.

Adam Sheppard, Lecturer, University of Birmingham, Lecturer

Adam joined the University of Birmingham in 2024 as an Assistant Professor of Urban Planning. Prior to this Adam taught for over a decade and a half in the RTPI Planning School at UWE Bristol, as well as at the University of Gloucestershire. Adam moved into academia from industry in 2007, having previously worked in Development Management for a number of Local Planning Authorities. Adam teaches modules particularly focused upon community participation and engagement, development management, and aspects of planning history. He is currently involved in research projects concerned with enforcement, Biodiversity Net Gain, urban rewilding, development management, AR/VR, and GIS.

Gala Camacho, Co-Founder and Data Scientist, Diagonal

Gala is a mathematician and programmer, with a background in education, optimisation and all-things data. She has worked at big corporates and startups within the civil infrastructure and urban planning ecosystem, leading analytics projects strategically and technically. Gala is passionate about using analytics to explore and break down urban and social inequalities. She is in the Expert Advisory Group (Governance Framework) for the Cities Coalition for Digital Rights, and is a member of the Ethics Workstream for the OECD Geospatial Lab. Gala recently brought GeoMob to Edinburgh hosting the inaugural meeting at the city’s CodeBase to talk “geo-innovation for fun and profit”.

If you are attending the conference you can book a 1:1 appointment with Veronica here.