The Urbanism Hour

At this Urbanism Hour, we meet Molly Strauss and Phil Smith from the Greater London Authority. They will explain how the GLA is maximising the value of infrastructure from a place making and sustainability perspective. This will cover how streetworks can incorporate sustainable drainage and healthy streets interventions in order to create better environments for people, and how re-thinking the design of electricity substations can lead to greater benefits for communities.

Speakers

Molly Strauss, Head of Infrastructure, Greater London Authority

Molly Strauss is Head of Infrastructure at the Greater London Authority (GLA). She leads a policy and delivery team at City Hall working on behalf of the mayor to improve infrastructure coordination across London, supporting decarbonisation and resilience. She previously served on the Infrastructure team as Streets Lead and Data & Innovation Lead. Before that, Molly was Editor of The Planning Report—Los Angeles’ preeminent urban planning trade publication—and Event Manager for VerdeXchange, a global conference on the green economy. She received an MSc from the London School of Economics’ Cities Programme and a BA from Harvard University.

Phil Smith, Senior Infrastructure Planning & Policy Officer, Greater London Authority

Phil is a Senior Infrastructure Planning & Policy Officer in the GLA’s Infrastructure team. He works on strategy and policy development in partnership with stakeholders, to ensure better planning and delivery of infrastructure in the capital. Phil previously worked in planning policy, transport planning and GIS, and is skilled in strategic planning, stakeholder engagement and undertaking planning research. He completed his MSc in Spatial Planning at UCL, where he pursued his interests in urban design, urban green space and social sustainability.