Designing Cities That Work

I’m Gibson Chu — an urban planner, product strategist, and storyteller focused on how cities actually work for the people who live in them. I'm quite interested about the intersection of urban policy, technology, and design, focused on a range of issues such as housing, public space, mobility, and climate resilience.

Over the past decade, I worked in product management across tech companies, where I learned how tools, incentives, and systems shape behavior at scale. Today, I bring that lens toward innovative city-building; whether that’s helping launch new urban infrastructure, designing better civic tools, or researching how policy decisions show up on the ground.

Alongside my professional work, I write and experiment with media: essays, photography, video, and audio. I’m especially interested in stories that show how people navigate risk, bureaucracy, and everyday life in cities, and how better design (of systems or spaces) can quietly make things work better.

I have a Master's in Urban Planning from NYU, and a B.A. in Economics and Cognitive Science from UC Berkeley. I’m currently based in Brooklyn, NYC, working on projects spanning safer streets, affordability, and climate resilience.