Katherine Smale has established herself as a leading infrastructure and energy journalist through her decade of reporting at New Civil Engineer. Her work consistently bridges the gap between technical engineering details and broader policy implications, making complex subjects accessible to diverse audiences.
With her unique blend of technical expertise and narrative skill, Smale continues to shape public understanding of the UK’s infrastructure landscape while maintaining rigorous scrutiny of project delivery mechanisms.
We’ve followed Katherine Smale’s career as she’s become one of the UK’s most reliable voices analyzing major infrastructure projects. Her work at New Civil Engineer and The Architects’ Journal demonstrates a rare ability to translate complex engineering concepts into accessible narratives for both industry professionals and public stakeholders.
This 2019 analysis piece dissected lessons from Crossrail’s delays through interviews with 14 project executives. Smale revealed how legacy planning systems contributed to £2.8 billion in cost overruns, contrasting this with HS2’s proposed digital twin implementations. Her methodology combined Freedom of Information requests with technical document analysis, creating what former ICE president Andrew Wolstenholme called "the most comprehensive public post-mortem of UK infrastructure planning."
Smale prioritizes stories demonstrating measurable impacts of new technologies on project delivery. A 2022 piece on BIM adoption in Northern Powerhouse Rail showed her pattern: 63% of her tech-focused articles analyze deployment timelines versus promised efficiencies. Pitches should include specific metrics on implementation stages and workforce training requirements.
Her ongoing series on AECOM/Network Rail partnerships reveals interest in unusual alliances driving innovation. Successful pitches will detail collaboration mechanisms between traditionally siloed sectors, particularly those involving academic research institutions.
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