Head of Future Mobility, WSP UK

Giles leads WSPs Future Mobility team in the UK and has over 30 years’ experience in futures, transportation and land use planning, digital and intelligent transport. He has worked in the public and private sectors as a senior client and director level consultant and, has led major projects across all modes. He has a detailed understanding of the strategic needs and opportunities surrounding the transport challenges that face our networks, regions, towns, cities and communities.

Giles lives in rural South-West UK and the issues facing such communities are at the heart of much of WSP future mobility thinking with Giles having authored the recent white paper “The 30-minute rural community” ( https://www.wsp.com/en-GB/camp... ). He has led on much of WSPs sub-national futures work, notably as recently published TfSE Future Mobility Strategy (which has a large rural component), the Midlands Connect Rural Hubs Study and England’s Economic Heartland First Mile Last Mile Study. Giles is currently leading WSPs work on ground-breaking sub-national rural strategies which adopt a people, place, activity and behavioural focused approach. He has also worked with the private sector providing advice on developing sustainable major new settlements in rural areas.

Giles is a recognised expert in the field of future mobility / transport having undertaken numerous cutting-edge commissions where his insight is helping build ‘future ready’ thinking into strategies, policies and asset specifications. He is a strategic thinker with an in-depth appreciation of the challenges facing all modes of mobility / transport resulting from disruptors, both within the transportation realm and wider socio-economic changes which influence it.

As an advocate of human centred, place led design, Giles is one of the few professionals tackling rural challenges head on, considering the assets, finances, modes, services and solutions which in combination could unlock rural communities, in term helping them achieve their social and economic potential.


Presenting with Rachel Lawson:

30 Minute Rural Community

With a large proportion of our population living in urban areas, we can find that the issues of the moment fixate on uniquely urban problems: the cost of living, the commute, services running over-capacity, and so on, meanwhile ignoring the specific rural issues. The 30 Minute Rural Community takes a strategic view, analysing the requirements of our rural communities against similar principles to the 20-minute city: essentially what we all require for high quality, functioning lives. Applying cutting-edge thinking to the New Zealand context, the 30 Minute Rural Community will test your thinking on how to approach planning for the variety of unique rural areas within Aotearoa and ask questions about how we best serve those special communities in a way that honours their history and enables their future success.


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