David Ubaka

David is a chartered architect and urban designer with expertise in transport and heritage-centered placemaking. He has experience in the design and delivery of transport, commercial, heritage, housing, sport, healthcare, public realm projects, and as an expert witness in planning inquiries. Also in creating design/movement guidance, masterplanning, and policy.

David was the first Design Champion for Transport for London, creating the Design function within that organization and co-founding/funding Urban Design London. He was Assistant Director at Design for London, delivering design excellence into a wide range of award-winning transport, mixed-use regeneration, public realm policy, and organizational change projects. In 2011, he was the first recipient of the Alan Cherry Placemakers Award for the decade he spent influencing and changing the built environment of London.

He is now the owner of D.U.P Group Holdings Limited and Director of the separate companies within the group. David Ubaka Placemakers focuses on strategic regeneration, policy creation, and place design while promoting active travel and sustainable growth for several public and private sector clients. David Ubaka Properties is a property and land development consultancy. He is also a Non-Exec Director with extensive board experience helping to develop and grow new companies.

David is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Highways and Transportation. He is the Chair of design review panels for several London Borough panels and two Community Development Design Review Panels. He is Deputy Chair of the Independent HS2 design panel and proud to be a member of Historic England’s Historic Places Panel and committee member of the Cathedral Fabric Commission for England.