Speakers

Mike Ernst is an Associate with Arup in Chicago, where he leads projects at the intersection of urban design and transportation planning. His work focuses on how people move through cities and how design decisions shape everyday experiences. He specializes in wayfinding systems, pedestrian and bicycle networks, complete streets, and strategies for public space activation.

Mike is a recognized leader in pedestrian movement and crowd modeling, helping clients understand how people flow through complex urban places. His portfolio includes work with business districts, sports and entertainment venues, museums, and cultural institutions, as well as large-scale urban redevelopment projects. He brings expertise in aligning land use and multimodal transportation planning to advance people-first design.