From transport infrastructure to new housing, public parks to healthcare facilities, projects across the built environment usually aim to strengthen communities and improve lives. But major, multi-year projects also cause inevitable disruption and require active engagement with communities, to ensure the benefits of a proposal are recognised and understood throughout the development process. 

Public engagement isn’t just about ticking boxes and gaining approval – it’s also about improving a scheme, learning from community concerns, in order to refine the project. And with built environment projects needing to address a wider and more complex mix of social, commercial and sustainability goals, there’s an ever greater need to communicate effectively with the public about the benefits, the milestones and the true nature of a scheme.

We draw on our team’s expertise in communications, PR and public engagement, backed with Arup’s full lifecycle of built environment project knowledge. We work closely with our clients’ project directors and managers, to ensure a new development has a strong identity, understands the community it will join, and we develop creative ways to explain the project to public and media groups. Our goal is to ensure that project teams can anticipate issues, identify risks, develop the most relevant communication strategy and ensure that things run smoothly throughout the development cycle.

Discover how we can help

Project public relations

Arup provides a wide range of public relations support, helping define the vision, engage stakeholders and deal with press through the project lifecycle.

Project public relations

Arup provides a wide range of public relations support, helping project directors to define a vision, explain their goals, engage their stakeholders and deal with the press throughout a project’s programme.

Public engagement billboard Hung Shui

At the Hung Shui Kiu/HaTsuen new development area, we developed a project narrative based on its strategic position, planning features and community essence.

We act as partners, becoming a bridge between groups, interests and expertise, to strengthen the delivery of any project or programme.

We work with clients’ project teams to assess the PR profile of a scheme, helping the community to understand the project’s benefits, as well as identifying likely risks and threats based on the local context and nature of the scheme. Our goal is to ensure a thoughtful and prepared approach to communications across a wide range of possible issues that might affect the project, the location and the community.

We also develop project and place branding through strategic storytelling, based on a deep understanding of a scheme’s qualities and benefits, as well as the values of relevant stakeholders.

Public and stakeholder engagement

Clients can draw on our range of consultancy skills - from design to event management to visual communication.

Public and stakeholder engagement

Our approach to public and stakeholder engagement is comprehensive.

User engagement and research underway

Adopt human-centric design thinking approach through user engagement and research.

We are able to consider initial analysis of which groups should be involved, what needs to be communicated and which media can be used to best advantage.

Clients get to draw on Arup’s wide range of consultancy skills, from design thinking methodology, event management to visual communication across physical and digital realms.

Learn more about experience design

Visualisation and digital experiences

Arup’s visualisation and experience design teams help clients to bring a scheme to life.

Visualisation and digital experiences

Arup’s visualisation and experience design teams help clients to bring a scheme to life.

3D gamification example

We used 3D gamification to engage and inform the local community about a new proposed cycle scheme for Hong Kong.

This is valuable across the lifecycle of a project, from making the initial case to investors and officials, through to public engagement. From VR experience to 3D consultation platform, our teams are at the forefront of visualisation innovation, developing brilliant and engaging experiences that really sell the benefits and features of a scheme and bring a project to life.

Learn more about our visualisation expertise

Learn more about our stakeholder consultation platform, Virtual Engage