Urban Design and Urban Planning

Our urban design and urban planning team provide strategic planning, placemaking and masterplanning services to clients in our towns and cities, as well as industrial markets including healthcare, defence, industry, energy and water.

Urban design and urban planning are critical to balancing environmental, social and economic outcomes in the design of towns, cities and our social and industrial infrastructure. It ensures we deliver development aligned to the needs of people and communities.

Daniel House Service Line Director, Urban Design and Urban Planning

Daniel House Service Line Director, Urban Design and Urban Planning

What is urban design and urban planning?

Urban design and urban planning focuses on the strategic planning and masterplanning of areas of the built environment. This includes town and city centres where we all live, work and play; as well as the industrial spaces for energy, transport, water and social facilities and infrastructure that we rely on for mobility, housing, health and sanitation.

Our integrated urban design and urban planning team has design capability and can blend bring experience across a wider range of sectors. We also work on different scales, this includes city-scale masterplans and development frameworks; large single-site industrial and regeneration projects, down to smaller urban realm and meanwhile projects.

We specialise in projects where urban planning and masterplanning is critical to achieving successful outcomes, balancing the need for appropriate environmental and economical outcomes with planning consents and viability, meeting the needs of the client, unlocking complex sites and flexibility to ensure whole-life cost efficiency.

Development life cycle

We guide our clients through the development life cycle, considering all aspects of urban design and urban planning needed for a successful place:

Strategy

Development strategy and frameworks, outline business cases, visioning and concepts, town and country planning, investment and funding.

Design

Urban design and architecture, masterplanning, landscape architecture, transport, infrastructure as well as digital and intelligent 3D models.

Implementation

Advisory and project management during construction, through to commissioning, operational use and monitoring.

Providing end-to-end expertise on development from advisory to delivery

Our urban design and urban planning specialists work closely with WSP’s technical, engineering and design teams, with subject matter experts always close at hand. This means that we can support clients on themes as varied as biodiversity net gain to nutrient neutrality, or sustainable urban drainage through to buildings standards.

In the past five years we’ve grown our specialist urban design, urban planning and masterplanning expertise including through acquisitions of GL Hearn, Capita Real Estate and Infrastructure Ltd, Wood Environment and Infrastructure (E&I) and Indigo Planning.

What if you could shape urban environments – and the future of those that use them?

At WSP, you can embrace your curiosity in a culture that celebrates different perspectives. Here, you can always find opportunities to grow, as you make your own path and do what matters to you. You can be proud of your work and its impact on communities all over the world, making it the best work of your life.

Be the best urban designer or urban planner you can be at WSP.

With us, you can.

Paddington Square

Paddington Square has transformed the area around world-famous Paddington Station into a vibrant new quarter for both local people and visitors – providing the perfect welcome to London.