Kate Riggs is a Senior Research Fellow at the UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose (IIPP).
Kate is an urban designer with a particular interest in advocating for the public value of good architecture and design, and demystifying the governance of our shared built (and unbuilt) environments. She has spent the last 5 years working in local government in London, and currently co-leads a team of architects, urban designers, community engagement specialists, landscape architects working across policy research and development, design advice for masterplans and planning applications, public engagement programmes, design and delivery of public realm projects. A key project she has led from concept through to delivery is the Croydon Urban Room - a public participation shopfront seeking to improve access and understanding of decision-making processes and inspire civic agency in planning, situated on the high street. Originally trained at RMIT University (Melbourne) with a Masters of Architectural Design, she has tutored as part of the Central Saint Martin's MA Cities programme exploring commissioning and governance structures, and has been a Design Council Specialist (2021-2024). In her free time she likes to write creative non-fiction with friend Stephanie Guest as part of their collaboration, Guest, Riggs.