Urban Planning

Urban planning is a partnership: Planning for people and planning that is accessible for all. That’s why SmithGroup’s planning process is intentionally inclusive, working with our clients to gain a deep understanding of their communities and their needs. Our holistic approach allows us to discover connections and performance improvements that translate ideas into innovative, actionable policies and projects that often surpass our clients’ wildest expectations. No matter what the scale of your project, we bring bold urban thinking, unafraid of driving change and shifting community conversations from “what has been” to “what can be.” 

Scotts Run Station SmithGroup

Scotts Run Master Plan

The most successful urban planning projects are built on a strong foundation of community involvement. It begins with our clients, of course, listening and engaging with them to understand their objectives and goals. Community stakeholders are vital participants, too, in a transparent, community-led process. Then we augment those insights with hard data—harnessing research and spatial analysis to develop solutions that fit each community’s context, capacity and long-term vision. 

Integrating process and product, SmithGroup’s interdisciplinary planning team develops comprehensive frameworks for implementation that address phasing, policy changes and partnerships. They bring substantial experience to each new project, able to think at multiple scales, foresee and overcome potential obstacles, develop alternate scenarios and design concepts, and facilitate consensus building.