Reflecting the Culture of the Community

Landscape architects are trained and skilled in understanding and enhancing how people interact with and experience places. Our work in the public realm includes planning and designing parks of all scales, special use areas including dog parks (we love dogs), streetscapes, festival streets, shared streets and spaces, urban plazas, transit centers and platforms, outdoor performance areas, splash pads, natural open spaces, rain gardens, community gardens and memorials, trails and trailheads, interpretive waysides, scenic overlooks, and a wide array of other places in the public realm.

We work closely with each community to conceptualize, visualize, and illustrate how these places may emerge or transform. We understand human scale, universal design principles, safety and security, and how places can be planned and designed to strengthen the sense of community and contribute to the important community values of equity, diversity, inclusiveness, livability, and sustainability. After all, places in the public realm belong to the people, and these places should reflect the cultures, values, and interests of the people they belong to. They should be active, vibrant reflections of the community, instilling a sense of pride and becoming a lasting legacy and an important part of our collective memories.