Deb Upadhyaya


Deb is a professionally trained architect, urban designer and planner, leading delivery of exemplar large scale and complex housing, regeneration, and garden communities’ both in the public and private sector (UK and India), for over 20 years.

A passionate advocate of sustainable urbanism, delivery of quality places and value creation through collaboration/ design led innovation. He champions inclusion and diversity as the fundamental building blocks of delivering resilient built environments.

He works as a Director at Atkins, a member of SNC-Lavalin group. In a voluntary capacity, he serves as a board director at The Academy of Urbanism, as a Design Council Expert, an external examiner at the Manchester School of Architecture, RTPI General Assembly member and on RTPI Planning, Policy and Research Committee and as a panel member for Sheffield and Greater Cambridgeshire Design Panels.

He coaches-mentors built environment professionals and pursues practice-led research on delivering ‘quality’ and ‘at pace’ in partnership with the built environment sector on ‘sustainable development goals, smart technologies and climate change’.

A Chartered Town Planner, Chartered Manager, Recognised Practitioner in Urban Design, and a Fellow at the RSA, he has a Doctorate in Philosophy on ‘Changing Paradigms of Evolving City Centres’ and an Executive MBA from the University of Sheffield.


Page updated: 25/03/2024


© 2024 Copyright Essex County Council. All rights reserved.