People. Data. Design | With Stephanie Edwards of Urban Symbiotics

What if the most powerful tool in an architect's kit isn't a drawing or a design — but listening?What if truly inclusive cities start not with buildings, but with the people who live in them?In this episode of the Built By Us Podcast, host Danna Walker sits down with Stephanie Edwards, architect, urban designer, and co-founder of Urban Symbiotics, a London-based practice, that is fundamentally rethinking how communities are engaged in the design and regeneration of the places they call home.Together, they explore what it really means to put people at the centre of the built environment — from challenging tokenistic consultation to developing innovative, on-the-ground engagement methods that go to where communities already are. Stephanie shares how a pivotal moment on a large-scale masterplanning project led her to start Urban Symbiotics with co-founder James Stewart, and how combining architecture with product design and communications has created a genuinely different approach to place-making and regeneration.Whether you're an architect, urban designer, planner, community practitioner, student, or someone who simply cares about who our cities are really built for, this episode is full of honest, thoughtful, and inspiring insights.In This EpisodeThe story behind Urban Symbiotics and what inspired its foundingWhy community engagement is often an exercise rather than a genuine endeavourInnovative methods for reaching underserved and underrepresented communitiesThe power of combining architecture with product design and communicationsRegeneration vs gentrification — navigating trust, displacement, and benefitWhy "nothing about us without us" is central to Urban Symbiotics' approachWhat communities have taught Stephanie about design and processDesigning flexible, inclusive spaces with low thresholds for participationThe Stephen Lawrence Trust and its lasting impact on diversity in architectureLessons from founding a purpose-driven practice — including wild optimismAbout the GuestStephanie Edwards is an architect, urban designer, and co-founder of Urban Symbiotics. She studied at the Architectural Association School of Architecture, supported by a full scholarship from the Stephen Lawrence Trust. Her career has taken her across the globe, from the Netherlands and the Middle East to South America and West Africa, before settling in London.Urban Symbiotics works at the intersection of people, data, and design, helping communities, developers, and local authorities to co-create places that genuinely reflect the needs, aspirations, and lived experiences of the people who use them.Connect with Urban SymbioticsWebsite: https://www.urbansymbiotics.com/Connect with Stephanie EdwardsLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephanie-edwards-aa-dip-arb-riba-9b603a28/Follow Built By UsWebsite: https://www.builtbyus.org.uk/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/builtbyusuk/