We build tech, so you can build sustainable places

Why we wanted 
to change UK planning

When Dan founded Urban Intelligence in 2014, he had just finished a planning task in which the team spent 6 months writing up reps. He wanted to solve the issues he’d come into planning to fix. But, instead of remedying urgent issues like housing and climate change or improving citizens’ quality of life, he was overwhelmed with admin and bureaucratic processes.

Planners have been putting up with technology that isn’t fit for purpose, copying information across several programmes, getting caught in endless email chains and working with data that’s expensive to process, out of date and incomplete.  Something needed to be done to give planners the power to make evidence-based choices for the prosperity of their communities.

78%
of UK councils are operating without an up-to-date plan.
100%
of our clients have decided to stay with Urban Intelligence.
Although, if you choose to leave, we will always help you to export your data.

Why we’re the right people to solve the problem

The dozens of rural and urban councils that we partner with, from across the UK, help us to create a product and service that works for them. We base our product backlog on feature requests and ideas that come straight from our users.

Working with Urban Intelligence, you’ll benefit from the collective knowledge of our user community. We serve dozens of councils across the country, pooling development budgets to create economies of scale. So, every client has access to a world-class service at excellent value. You’ll have the support of Planners, Technologists and Data Scientists who understand your problems and can use the power of technology to solve them.

We believe that planners deserve a product that’s built around their needs, that is a pleasure to use and that helps them do their job faster and with greater accuracy. Because planning has the potential to improve lives.

We’re a team of Planners, Architects, NASA-Environmental Data Scientists and Technologists.

What makes us different

Working with councils, we noticed that the tools for local plan making weren't fit for the job.

Our aim is to create the ultimate digital local plan platform. One that makes it easy for every planner to understand the trends and the evidence that they need to make effective decisions.

Of course, planners also want to provide the best possible service to their customers. Our tools are transforming the relationship that planners have with their citizens. So we can create better places for all.

How we work with you to shape the future of planning

We’re going beyond helping planners to work with the existing planning process.

We’re a key part of the Government’s push towards digital planning, as set out in the 2023 Levelling-Up and Regeneration Act, where they outlined the need for new standards in the planning process.

These new standards haven’t been set yet. We’re working with Government and Councils to demonstrate what’s possible within digital planning.

We're doing this through pathfinder projects, not only meeting new legislative requirements, but helping to set the standards for the evolving planning system so that it works for planning teams, rather than against them.

Join us in shaping the future of planning.

Our Team

Daniel Mohamed FRSA

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Founder & CEO

Dan is a planning technologist with experience working in both the public and private sectors of property and planning. He is passionate about transforming the planning system into an effective ecosystem that is data-driven and future-orientated.

Josh Hoare-Matthews

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Associate Director

Josh is responsible for ensuring the products that we create at Urban Intelligence provide real value to users. This involves understanding users needs, and communicating these needs to the technical members of the team.

Janosch Hoffmann PhD

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Chief Data Scientist

Ex-NASA (cool, we know) Janosch is our in-house data wizard. He is responsible for creating the algorithms that allow us to be at the cutting-edge of our mission.

Can Özer PhD

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Senior GIS Data Scientist

Can is an expert in the use of geospatial data science. He is currently completing a PhD at the Middle East Technical University in Ankara focussing on Transport Modelling.

Flora Pearson

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Lead Product Designer

Flora has 9 years experience designing digital products. Her background is in building brands and products for start-ups. She joins us from the incubator & Accelerator, Founders Factory.

Josh Doyle

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Principal Planner

Josh brings experience of working across architecture, urban design and planning in both the public and private sector. He works with our users to understand their needs and develop solutions to new challenges.

Katy Evans

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Data Scientist

Katy works closely with our users to ensure their needs are met through tailoring our products. She is passionate about the power of data storytelling, as well as empowering users to leverage the full potential of their data.

Alex Scholtes

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Data Scientist

With a master's degree in Data Science and Analytics, Alex thrives on understanding novel problems and using statistics and data to solve them. With experience working with clients to establish feasible data solutions, he helps to bridge the gap between theoretical and practical solutions.

Mei Geater

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Junior Designer

Blending her graduate knowledge of Human Geography and planning with UX design, Mei helps to create accessible and frictionless experiences for all our users.

Sarah Mitchell Baker

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Marketing Lead

Sarah is an experienced marketer with a background in local council communications. She’s passionate about effective client communication, improving user experiences and bridging the gap between councils and technology.

Katharine Wilkinson

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Finance Director

An EY trained Chartered Accountant, Katharine has worked with growing SME businesses for the past 12 years, with particular focus on innovative tech. With expertise in FP&A, processes & controls, finance systems and M&A, along with a commercial and people-centred mindset, she plays an integral part in their business growth and in the delivery of key strategic objectives.

Josh Hoare-Matthews

Linked in icon

Associate Director

Josh is responsible for ensuring the products that we create at Urban Intelligence provide real value to users. This involves understanding users needs, and communicating these needs to the technical members of the team.

Janosch Hoffmann PhD

Linked in icon

Chief Data Scientist

Ex-NASA (cool, we know) Janosch is our in-house data wizard. He is responsible for creating the algorithms that allow us to be at the cutting-edge of our mission.

Can Özer PhD

Linked in icon

Senior GIS Data Scientist

Can is an expert in the use of geospatial data science. He is currently completing a PhD at the Middle East Technical University in Ankara focussing on Transport Modelling.

Flora Pearson

Linked in icon

Lead Product Designer

Flora has 9 years experience designing digital products. Her background is in building brands and products for start-ups. She joins us from the incubator & Accelerator, Founders Factory.

Josh Doyle

Linked in icon

Principal Planner

Josh brings experience of working across architecture, urban design and planning in both the public and private sector. He works with our users to understand their needs and develop solutions to new challenges.

Katy Evans

Linked in icon

Data Scientist

Katy works closely with our users to ensure their needs are met through tailoring our products. She is passionate about the power of data storytelling, as well as empowering users to leverage the full potential of their data.

Alex Scholtes

Linked in icon

Data Scientist

With a master's degree in Data Science and Analytics, Alex thrives on understanding novel problems and using statistics and data to solve them. With experience working with clients to establish feasible data solutions, he helps to bridge the gap between theoretical and practical solutions.

Mei Geater

Linked in icon

Junior Designer

Blending her graduate knowledge of Human Geography and planning with UX design, Mei helps to create accessible and frictionless experiences for all our users.

Sarah Mitchell Baker

Linked in icon

Marketing Lead

Sarah is an experienced marketer with a background in local council communications. She’s passionate about effective client communication, improving user experiences and bridging the gap between councils and technology.

Katharine Wilkinson

Linked in icon

Finance Director

An EY trained Chartered Accountant, Katharine has worked with growing SME businesses for the past 12 years, with particular focus on innovative tech. With expertise in FP&A, processes & controls, finance systems and M&A, along with a commercial and people-centred mindset, she plays an integral part in their business growth and in the delivery of key strategic objectives.

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