Greg Clark (urbanist)


Greg Clark, an urbanist, is an author, global advisor, chairman and non-executive director. Clark has advised more than 100 cities, 20 national governments and a wide array of bodies including the OECD, Brookings Institution, the World Bank and the Urban Land Institute on strategies for city development and investment. He also advises global investors and corporate service companies on how to align with city leaders.

Early life and education

Clark was born in Wimbledon, London in 1962 and was educated at the Jesuit Wimbledon College. Between 1981 and 1982, he spent time volunteering in Mexico City and New York, which was to ignite his interest in the world's biggest cities. He went on to Cambridge University, where he read Education and Social and Political Science and was JCR President. He joined the Local Economy Policy Unit from 1988 to 1991 as a research fellow in London economic development.
Between 1994 and 1996, Clark was selected as a Harkness Fellow based at Columbia University in New York City, where he read Globalisation and City and Regional Planning. From 1996 to 1998, he worked as a research scholar in city economic development at the London School of Economics.

Roles

Clark is an executive, a non-executive, a writer and advisor. His roles include:
He also holds some advisory roles including:
From 1986 to 1990 Clark's career began to focus on city economies and employment, including roles at the British Refugee Council, The London Borough of Lambeth, and the Local Economy Policy Unit. In 1995, Clark was selected as a Harkness Fellow and was based at Columbia University in New York City, where he investigated City & Regional Planning and Metropolitan Governance. He spent much of 18 months of his Fellowship as a guest of the US Federal Government, assessing city and regional economic development in 12 US and Canadian Cities.
Clark returned to London in 1997, and took up a two-year part-time role as a research scholar in City and Regional Economics at the London School of Economics. Between 1990 and 2006 Clark held leadership roles in London in the sphere of urban economic development including: International Programmes Director at the London Docklands Development Corporation, managing director, Economic Development at Greater London Enterprise, & Chief executive of the London Enterprise Agency 'One London' ; Executive Director of Strategy and Communications, London Development Agency and Lead Advisor on City and Regional Economic Development, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.
Since 2004 Clark has held a portfolio of advisory roles with global organisations and institutions, and has undertaken reviews of more than 100 cities around the world, chiefly for the OECD, Brookings Institution, World Bank and Urban Land Institute. He has directed comparative studies and assessments of London and New York City, British and Spanish Cities, UK and Canadian Cities, and UK and Chinese Cities. His international roles have included chairman of the International Advisory Committee for the New York Regional Plan 2017,Sao Paulo 2040 Strategic Plan. He has been International Advisor on Strategic Planning in Rio de Janeiro, Johannesburg, Cape Town, Auckland and Barcelona. He has also been chairman of the International Advisory Committee on Urban Development in Moscow, and chairman of the Advisory Board for Oslo Regional Brand and chairman of the Vienna Tourism Strategy Advisory Board.
He has advised on governance reforms in London, Sydney, Toronto, Barcelona, Auckland, Sao Paulo, Milan, and Turin. He has advised on national policies for cities in UK, Ireland, Canada, China, India, Colombia, Sri Lanka, South Africa¸ New Zealand, Italy, Slovakia, and Latvia..
Clark was previously a Commissioner on the UK City Growth Commission, Chairman of British BIDs, a Commissioner on the West End Commission and a member of the Lead Expert Group of the UK Future of Cities Foresight Project. He has made a continuing contribution to leadership in Greater London, where his roles have included being a member of the board of Transport for London,Member of the London LEP Board, Chairman of the London Stansted Cambridge Consortium]. He was a member of the Crossrail 2 Growth Commission and the West Anglia Task Force. He was a member of the Promote London Council.
Clark is also chairman and moderator of summits and gatherings notably the World Cities Summit Mayors' Forum, Asia Pacific Cities Summit Mayors Forum, and the Moscow Urban Forum. He has written on cities and urban investment practices, publishing ten books and numerous articles.

The Future of Cities and Long Term Strategic Planning For Cities And Metropolitan Areas

Clark has supported public and private partnerships leading metropolitan strategies and plans that integrate transport, land use, and economic development. His recent contributions include:
Books
Forthcoming
Reports and Papers