How do infrastructure, design, and governance intersect to shape the lived experience of cities and regions?
That question drives my work, as practitioner, researcher, and leader.
This breadth of perspective brings unusual depth to conventional problems. Over two decades leading design and strategy across mobility, media, arts, and the public sector, I've learned that the most interesting challenges are never purely technical: they are cultural, political, and systemic.
My approach bridges strategic design, policy analysis, and urban theory to inform more coherent, human-centered models of metropolitan coordination. I'm particularly interested in how infrastructure projects function as cultural and political artifacts, shaping not only how people move, but how they imagine and inhabit their regions.
Today, I lead customer experience and governance work in complex institutional environments, with a focus on mobility systems as levers of territorial development, intermodal integration, and public experience. I also pursue independent research, presenting at international conferences and collaborating with organizations willing to engage complexity rather than simplify it away. I work best with confident, curious partners who want to move beyond surface-level solutions.
💬 Research & Speaking
International Conference on Urban Affairs, RSA Special Track: The City-Region Reimagined (Chicago, IL, May 2026): High-speed Rail as a Vector of Proximity: Governance, Design, and the Architecture of Territorial Integration
Congrès annuel de l’AQTR 2026 (Saint-Hyacinthe, QC, April 2026) Gouverner l'expérience de bout en bout : vers une grande vitesse qui rapproche vraiment
IT- Trans 2026 (Karlsruhe, Germany, March 2026): “Experienced Proximity”: Contracting Door-to-Door Performance and User-Centered KPIs for Megaregional High-Speed Rail
Transport Association of Canada Annual Conference 2026 (Winnipeg, MB, October 2026) (Accepted) From Infrastructure to Experience: Governing for Human-Centred Mobility Outcomes; Mobility Projects as Governance Objects : Coordinating Long-term, Multi‑Actor Delivery
Sciences Po (Paris, France, 2023-2024) Master’s Degree — Territorial Governance & Urban Development. Thesis: The Role of Governance in the Passenger Experience, a comparative study of regional transportation governance in Paris and London examining how institutional structures influence passenger experience across integrated transportation systems.
On how governments can use clearer communication to build public trust: a conversation with OZY.
© 2021, David Jalbert-Gagnier