Kathryn Firth, Director in Cities, Planning and Design, Arup, is an architect and urban designer whose passion for creating thriving places spans some 30 years. She has led masterplanning and urban design projects across the UK, US, Europe and Middle East, ranging from public realm improvements to large scale regeneration projects. 

Prior to joining Arup, Kathryn was Urban Design Director at several practices in the UK and the US. She was the Chief of Design at the London Legacy Development Corporation where, directed teams of architects, landscape architects, planners, and engineers to realise the Olympic Legacy.  Kathryn is committed to the exchange between the practice and research and is a proponent of a multi-disciplinary approach. She leads research that focuses on the intersection of socio-economic and environmental resiliency.  Kathryn served on the BusinessLDN Place Commission, sits on and chairs several Design Review Panels and is a Mayor’s Design Advocate alum. Kathryn is the co-chair for the UK Infrastructure & Urban Development Council for the Urban Land Institute. She holds a Masters of Architecture in Urban Design from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design, where she has been teaching over the past 5 years. She currently is teaching at the Bartlett, UCL.