We are an urban design firm of five Principals, each with more than 20 years of experience. Together, we have a rounded and complementary skill set to work on projects at an urban design scale. Our expertise spans development and planning strategy, master planning, engagement, education, advocacy, mobility, and the public realm.
JANE LIN
Jane is a licensed architect and urban designer with twenty years of experience working with municipalities and agencies in the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond. Her work includes urban design for streetscape improvements, transit area planning, revitalizing mixed-use districts, and supporting housing policy. Jane is a lecturer at UC Berkeley and teaches architecture to school aged students (K-12). It is important to Jane that large groups of non-designers become empowered with creative communication skills because they are the key to making our communities better.
Q: Your work seems to resonate with a wide audience, from vibrant mixed-use developments to serene green pockets. Looking ahead, what new frontiers in urban design are you excited to explore, and how do you envision your impact evolving as these new challenges and opportunities arise?
A: The challenges for urban design have been around for a long time! One of our biggest challenges in the United States is the impact of private vehicle use on our urban and daily patterns. We also have a greater need than ever for social spaces, a feeling of community cohesion. If re-framed, the built environment can be an opportunity to highlight the identity of a place so that it is more meaningful to the people that live there and more coherent to those who visit. For many communities, building that pride and sense of place is a new frontier. The innovation in urban design may be the way that we facilitate and communicate our design.
Q: Your ability to weave urban dreams into reality is remarkable. Could you share an instance where you faced significant challenges during a project, and how your tenacity and creativity helped you overcome them to ultimately create a successful and meaningful urban space?
A: Making projects a reality takes much more than design. There are multiple factors for a project's success, and many trade-offs that need to be evaluated. It is critical that the economics for a project works to make it a reality. It is also vital that there is community support to allow changes to be made. We are careful to draw our ideas from built precedents while still maintaining our big vision. Whether this has to do with the amount of retail, the parking ratios that are being considered, or the size of public open space, we have to drive towards our ideal while listening to what is possible. In some projects our role is to define the dream. In other projects we are there to advise on how to make things work. It takes patience to understand that a grand vision takes steps and phases to become real.
Q: Your influence extends beyond your projects as you contribute to nurturing the next generation of urban visionaries through teaching. How do you inspire your students to think differently about urban design and encourage them to create spaces that reflect their own passion and values?
A: Urban design requires the skill of many different professions: architect, landscape architect, planner, economist, transportation planner, teacher, storytellers, and many more. I believe in teaching my students how to be a connector and a facilitator. We all have the power to be an urban designer, which is someone who brings together things that seemed unresolved, fragmented, or leftover in an urban environment, and transforms it into something much more livable. I want my students to understand their stakeholders and to see multiple potential futures. I want our society to feel more empowered to shape their world and solve the urban problems they see. I can’t do this alone. It will take a generation of like-minded, creative, and energetic urban advocates to affect change to make our neighborhoods more just, more livable, and better places to thrive.
Q: Your role seems to intertwine project management with storytelling. Could you elaborate on how you infuse narrative elements into your projects, and how this approach enhances the overall impact and longevity of the spaces you design?
A: When you imagine the typical process of community outreach, you can see that there’s an opportunity to make this process way better! Urban planning usually seems so serious, but it can be made fun, creative, and engaging. I love crafting the process to involve people at different levels. Whether you are 8 or 88, there’s something you can add to the conversation. The more perspectives, the more feedback a project can respond to, the better it will serve more people. As an urban designer, the more you learn about those who are impacted by the work you do, the more you want to make it right.
Q: You've mentioned being a vocal advocate for the public and championing spaces that resonate with everyday citizens. How do you navigate the challenges that often arise when aligning public interests with the demands of urban development?
A: We are always working on places that change. Our cities evolve one step at a time, and sometimes in leaps. That can be so confusing and opaque to those who are impacted. It is important to communicate change by providing context and clear reasons. It is important to explain how we have come to this point, what it could be like in the future, and tell that story, which is typically more than one narrative. Our role is not to provide answers but to facilitate a way for public interests to hear each other and partly also to describe the factors that influence a project’s feasibility.
Q: Your illustrations have the power to transform complex urban ideas into vivid visual narratives. Can you share an instance where your illustrations played a pivotal role in fostering understanding and support for a particular urban development project?
A: Many times there will be an advocate, stakeholder or decision maker who has a great vision but doesn’t know what to do with it or how to express it. They may be limited to the words they say, or data that establishes their case. As an urban designer, it is our job to translate these initial descriptions into something visual. You might not see an opportunity site if it is dirt, or a surface parking lot, but after you see what we can create, it will help you imagine the future potential of the site much better.
Q: Your journey is a captivating blend of urban design, education, and community engagement. How did you discover your passion for creating purposeful urban spaces and what drives you to advocate for community harmony?
A: I started as an architect, but realized that I wanted to think about the greater setting of the urban environment. It really is about the spaces around us - I can’t help thinking about why some spaces are successful and others are not. The passion for creating purposeful urban spaces has evolved through each stage of my life, learning about what a city feels like as a teenager gaining independence, as a mother seeking community, and through my kids eyes as those same spaces have evolved into something new. You can’t get away from it (even if you try), the built environment is the setting for our lives. And everyone is impacted by the design of buildings, streets, and its interface with nature and society. It can also be so much more if we have a clearer sense of the possibilities for our spaces to serve us better.
HEIDI SOKOLOWSKY
Heidi Sokolowsky is a passionate urban designer who has been practicing for over 30 years in the Bay Area and in Europe. Heidi focuses on context-based sustainable development with an emphasis on the public realm, connectivity, urban mixed-use, public transit and alternative mobility, and community engagement. She has managed small and large projects, ranging from the implementation of public art to the preparation of site studies, design guidelines, and district and station area plans. Heidi has also been a lecturer for urban design at San José State University and Bauhaus University in Weimar, Germany.
Q: Looking ahead, how do you see the role of urban design evolving in an increasingly interconnected world, and what key principles do you believe will shape the future of urban landscapes?
A: We live in an age of uncertainty and acceleration. The social landscape and the way we live has changed significantly. Old wisdoms and formulas may not work anymore, whether we like it or not. However, this Umbruch presents an unprecedented opportunity to experiment with new solutions and perhaps even. The pandemic has shown that long established ways of work had to change rapidly, not due to some envisioned new work concept to increase effiency but due to a sudden external impulse. And we did cope and find new solutions. For me, the key principles for the future of urban landcapes are (in no particular order): Embrace change, think holistically, be truly sustainable
My hope is that we will be able address major issues such as global warming, the housing crisis, and inequality, now that we stare in the face of them.
Q: Urban design is a field that continuously evolves. How do you stay informed about the latest global trends and incorporate them into your projects while ensuring they remain relevant and contextual to each unique setting?
A: I get the most inspiration from traveling to places and experience them firsthand. I often learn about interesting projects from publications or from attending conferences, presentations, discussion forums, and events. If possible, I try to meet with people who can share insights on a project. On the local level, I am engaging in the professional discourse through my work at AIA and SPUR committees. I very much enjoy working with students and I have taught urban design studios at the Bauhaus University in Germany and at San Jose State University. I regularly volunteer for architecture and urban design studio reviews, which is a great way to not only share knowledge but also learn about the work and viewpoint of young designers.
Q: Embracing international flair is a hallmark of your work. Could you share an instance where cultural diversity inspired a design approach, resulting in a solution that resonated deeply with the local community while also pushing boundaries?
A: One recent example is the conceptual design we have developed for the Historic Depot Plaza in Fresno, which seeks to activate a currently vacant area in front of the existing Depot building as an open space for the community before the new High-Speed Train Station gets constructed. Drawing from extensive and interactive input from the communty and stakeholders, as well as international and national examples of similar places, we developed a design that includes some flexibility in terms of uses and plaza features to ensure that the space will meet the needs of the community. In order to create an attractive plaza that will integrate the Depot and its possible outdoor dining or event spaces, the necessary vehicular access is limited to loading and emergency vehicles. This approach requires some non-standard solutions such movable bollards, pavement materials, and vehicular areas that read as part of the plaza - pretty much like a shared street concept that has been successful in other countries. Similarly, the new HSR Station will have generous public plazas with priority access to public transit, taxis, rideshare services, bikes, and pedestrians.
Q: Your perspective on cities as living, breathing organisms is fascinating. How do you apply critical thinking to understand and respond to the complex interplay of urban dynamics, and how does this inform your design decisions?
A: Many factors shape cities and urban design is only one part of it. Like in all complex systems, no single element can determine the system but any one change can have an effect. As designers, we need to be aware of the many forces at play and understand the possibilities as well the limitations of our tools. We can’t solve economic, policy, or social issues with design, but we can support intended change with design. For example, if a city has stated a stated objective to make a street safer and more pedestrian-friendly, we can make this objective a reality by developing a design that fits the particular situation. This illustration can help obtain funding but in itself is not a funding tool. However, we often help the process with inspiring precedents that include innovative approaches beyond the design. In my mind, the most important aspect about the complexity of cities is that there is no magic status quo that needs to be preserved. A living organism is constantly renewing itself and is experiencing change. We need to recognize and accommodate these changes while always advocating for the livibility of our cities. That’s why there is no place for dogmatism in urban design. Things that have worked in the past may work in the future but there may also be new solutions that may work as well - for a while. We need to allow room for experimentation. As Henry Miller so eloquently stated “all is flux”.
Q: Your focus on shaping urban spaces where movement and serenity coexist is intriguing. Can you elaborate on how you integrate these seemingly contrasting elements into your designs to create harmonious and inviting environments?
A: Our cities and even our lives are full of juxtapostions. The ying can’t exist without the yang, and one can’t be active without rest. If we regard our urban enviroments as organisms, both aspects need to be present to make them alive and livable. We dedicate a lot of space to transportation, and to cars in particular. While efficient movement is critical, it also has a huge impact on our and nature’s wellbeing. Finding the right balance is a challenge and depends on the particular situation but we need to recognize that we can easily create more people-friendly environments in cities by shifting priorities away from the private automobile. The public realm - a space that belongs to everyone - deserves more design attention and investment: how can we make open spaces, streets, public transit, the interfaces with buildings better for humans? More interconnected, safer, and pleasant? More environmently friendly? How can we make sure that private development contributes to these goals as well? Good urban design plays a significant role in achieving these goals by listening, imagining, and providing guidance. I should add that good urban design does not only envision sensible spaces for humans but also for animals, insects, and plants, which are crucial for urban organisms. Where we do need impactful uses such as high-traffic streets, infrastructure, and industrial uses, we need to think about mitigations and technical solutions on a larger scale that we have been doing.
Q: Envisioning urban futures that blend imagination with pragmatism is a unique skill. How do you approach combining visionary concepts with practical considerations to create spaces that transcend the ordinary?
A: Great places are created by great ideas and amibitions. I believe that we should always dare to imagine the city we want to live in and not get caught up in the practicalities right from the start. Our role as designers is to illustrate what is possible, advise on the feasibility of ideas, and help identify priorities. And sometimes push the envelope to support meaningful change and improvements. Practical requirements do not necessarily need to stand in the way of a vision, if we understand and know how to use them. Constraints often spur creativity! But if issues such as costs or lack of support present seemingly unsurmountable obstacles, we can help craft approaches that work over time without loosing sight of the overall objective.
Q: Collaboration seems to be a core principle in your work. Could you describe a project where your collaborative approach turned diverse talents into a cohesive and innovative urban design solution?
A: Every urban design project is a collaborative effort and involves many players such as city staff, stakeholders, the community, and consultants. Within our design team, collaboration typically results in better ideas and solutions, as every team member brings a unique set of perspectives and expertise to the table. One of our ongoing projects is a perfect example of the virtues of collaboration. The Chamber of Commerce in Calistoga looked for ideas on how to improve Calistoga’s downtown and attract more diverse businesses. The project started with a retail analysis and recommendations for which we collaborated with an economist. Based on the findings and input from a Task Force consisting of members of the business community and residents, we developed ideas for the physical improvement of Calistoga’s main street, Lincoln Avenue. Three Urban Field Studio partners worked together to provide urban design, landscape architecture, and retail environment expertise to create a streetscape concept that can be implemented over time. The provided plan and design manual can be used by the city to estimate costs and apply for funding.
FRANK FULLER
Frank is an architect and urban designer with decades of work throughout the United States. His focus is on design of sustainable urban environments, which include transport station districts, city neighborhoods, and greater downtown areas. Frank’s projects include conceptual architecture for cities, public agencies and private developers. One current project is with the Deutsche Bahn team and the California High Speed Rail Authority on station planning and urban design of transit-oriented development for six California stations.
Q: Looking ahead, how do you envision the role of purpose-driven architecture in addressing pressing global issues such as sustainability, social equity, and well-being, and how do you see yourself contributing to these important conversations through your work?
A: I hope to be able to contribute positively as long as I can, which could be a year or many years. Architecture and urban design always has a part to play in society’s issues through every design decision and policy position that we choose to make. But the most important consideration is the vision we have that guides our actions and our statements. Paramount issues of our times include decarbonization, wealth equity, and liveability for much of the world. Architects and urban designers should be in the forefront of creating solutions to these and other world issues.
Q: Urbanization presents both opportunities and challenges. How do you see the role of architects evolving in shaping future cities to accommodate the growing population while maintaining a sense of identity and community?
A: Architects need to write, speak and design about urbanization. Future cities need to relook at their public and private land to make the best use of creating community and neighborhoods. In the United States, much of architects’ and urban designers’ work is to help to reuse streets, add density for housing and combine uses for walkable connections to needed services. Sprawling development, new towns in the countryside, and single use residential zones are the antithesis of future sustainable and liveable urbanization. Many forms of mobility, connected open spaces, pedestrian emphases and mixed-use buildings are components of this shaping of future cities.
Q: Academic insight and global interactions play a role in shaping your designs. How do these diverse influences come together to inspire your approach to creating environments that transcend geographical and cultural boundaries?
A: A considerable amount of research is involved with urban design projects. In approaching the subjects and projects to be designed, the more academic questions are accompanied by experience that has been gained through travel over several decades of practice. What are the most livable places and why are they so? Where have I been that exemplifies the life that could be considered relevant to a particular urban design? How would one move within the place from walking to high-speed travel? It is important to note that research is continual and gathering knowledge with precedents is never-ending. Also, travel is conducted through reading, map exploration as well as physical travel.
Q: Your profile emphasizes creating socially valuable urban spaces with a strong sense of purpose. Can you share a project where you seamlessly integrated architectural design with a deeper social narrative, resulting in a space that resonates with its users on multiple levels?
A: A few California examples include Center Street Promenade in downtown Anaheim, Third Street Plaza in Morgan Hill, and currently in the works, Park-Lorton Plaza in downtown Burlingame. It is important to note that these are all collaborative designs involving many people in their creation over time. Looking a little more closely at Anaheim, the design and development of the Center Street Promenade took many years, revisions and additions to establish what is there today. In 1988 when I began the urban design effort, the street was in a different location surrounded by bare earth as a result of urban renewal. Today, a new placement, successive developments along it, and planned events within it all contribute to the street’s vitality. A museum square, indoor skating rinks, retail shops, public and private offices, a post office, residential dwellings and street markets contribute to a new main street for downtown Anaheim.
RYAN CALL
With over 20 years of experience in planning and architectural design, Ryan has developed a particular expertise in master planning mixed-use urban communities with a focus on vibrant retail districts and public spaces. His primary interest lies in the strategic aspects of the design and development process where he has worked on a variety of projects from neighborhood shopping centers to regional shopping centers, to mixed-use multi-block districts. His presentation expertise has proven key to the success of many projects, especially during the critical public process and approvals phases.
Q: You're known for fostering connections that strengthen the urban fabric. Can you provide an example of how your efforts led to stronger community engagement and a more tightly-knit urban environment?
A: The 70 acre SCS Master Plan for the City of Dublin, came into being after three different proposals for the site were rejected by the community. The community and developer were at a standstill regarding the impacts and benefits the site could deliver. Originally planned for a regional shopping center, the site never developed as it was not a feasible use. This left the community with unfinished streets and sidewalks, and limited options for retail and entertainment. Through an extensive year-long public outreach process, including a stakeholder committee of citizens, we shaped a master plan with many components authored by the community itself. We were able to successfully find the middle ground between the number of housing units, and amenities (retail and public open space) the project could feasibly develop. The Preferred Plan, with both the blessing of the community and developer, passed City Council and will be finally realized.
Q: With your reality-grounded perspective, could you share a project where you took an innovative concept and translated it into a tangible urban solution that had a positive impact on the city and its residents?
A: Cities are now more commonly requiring extensive landscaping and surface permeability to mitigate the urban heat island effect, and storm-water treatment. The City of Bloomington, Indiana requires that 40% of the site area is not just permeable, but planted! To provide a design solution that met this requirement, but also created a tight knit collection of buildings on an urban grid, we consolidated the landscape space into a large central park, and a paseo connecting to the 3rd street retail corridor. In doing so, the landscape requirement double as a benefit to the public social spaces for the apartments, and larger neighborhood.
Q: Urban spaces often serve as the backdrop for people's lives. How do you ensure that your projects contribute to a sense of belonging and inclusivity for all members of the community?
A: The least complex solution to creating inclusive public spaces is to locate them where they are easily accessible, and have activities attractive to a diverse population. Considering the needs for children, students, workers, the elderly, small and larger groups, throughout different times of day, weeks, or seasons, allows a design to respond and accommodate those groups, increasing the relevance, and likelihood of the use. If the space is relevant enough, the gathering of people becomes an attraction in itself, strengthening it value, and contribution to the community.
Q: Your ability to bridge the gap between imagination and reality is a distinctive trait. How do you ensure that visionary ideas are not only inspiring but also practical and feasible within the constraints of urban development?
A: If a master plan for a development is not attractive to the market, it doesn’t get built. If a master plan is market relevant, but not supported by the community, it doesn’t get built. To prepare a master plan that does get built, it must be informed by both of these forces. This often involves meaningful community outreach, and market research, to understand how the needs of both can be realized by the design. In the case of the SCS Master Plan in Dublin, CA, our team both listened, and shared with the community the opportunities and constraints of development. We were able to visualize for them the trade-offs between the generation of profit, and the generation of community benefits. Through this process we were able to help them understand, within the constraints of financial feasibility, what their choices actually were, and hear from them which were most important. Through that process we were able to integrate their feedback into a design that presented an acceptable risk to the developer, and delivered the right combination of amenities the community needed.
Q: In your role as an urban problem solver, could you tell us about a particularly challenging problem you encountered in a project and the innovative approach you took to overcome it?
A: The recurring dilemma faced with almost every suburban master plan is the balance between density and financial feasibility. In many instances, the rents the market can support do not cover the cost of complex high density housing and the structured parking it requires. In the instance of the District at Latimer Square in Bloomington, Indiana, by consolidating the resident parking in a free-standing cost efficient garage, and lowering the number of parking spaces per unit, the developer was able to deliver 340 units of housing on 7 acres, of which 4 acres were landscaped with parks, paseos, and courtyards. The simplicity of the garage allowed lower costs per parking space, and lower costs in the construction of the four story apartment buildings. The project recently opened, providing much needed relief to Bloomington’s housing shortage.
Q: You've been described as an advocate for improved connectivity. How do you envision technology and urban design intersecting to create more connected and seamless city experiences for residents?
A: Today the populations in the suburbs outnumber the traditional urban centers, and they are looking to designers to transform their suburbs into vibrant places with a stronger sense of identity and community. With time being the ultimate commodity, we can find success in re-inventing the suburbs with enhanced connectivity to bring services, recreation, entertainment, and friends and family together safer, faster, and with greater choice of mobility. In many cases, these improvements are incremental, and achieved site by site, coordinated by district master plans. Over time, it can lead to suburbs that are as convenient to bike as they are to walk, relieving congestion, and strengthening community.
Q: Balancing functionality and aesthetics is a key aspect of your work. Could you elaborate on how you approach this balance when crafting urban solutions to meet the needs of diverse users?
A: Paths are a key element in the design of vibrant public spaces. A path that connects users to a diversity of destinations, and is convenient, safe, and enjoyable, will experience more use and become more vibrant. Its vibrancy has a foundation based in practicality and need. If you can then enhance that path with experiences, and social opportunities like places to sit, exercise, shop, or play, the path takes on a culture and becomes part of the destination in itself. The broader group of people these spaces serve, the greater the shared identity and community is created. Path and Place must be designed together to create authentic places.
JOHN BELA
John is an urban designer and landscape architect with two decades of experience leading multidisciplinary teams to design and deliver complex masterplan frameworks, award-winning public realm strategy, and innovative streetscapes and public spaces. A former Partner at Gehl and co-founder of Rebar, he works with communities, municipalities, and private sector partners to create diverse, equitable, and resilient places. John is skilled at leading user experience and ethnographic research and applying research insights and spatial data to inform strategic planning and innovative design. John possesses excellent design, leadership, facilitation, collaboration, and public speaking skills.
Q: The concept of user-generated urbanism is fascinating. Could you elaborate on how you empower citizens to actively shape their urban landscapes, and how this approach has contributed to more inclusive and community-driven designs?
A: User generated urbanism is a way to describe citizen participation in place creation. This can range from parklets to community gardening to co-housing to informal settlements. Citizens are already empowered, my goal is to remove the obstacles and create both a strong and flexible framework for participation. Too loose and flexible a structure can result in chaotic outcomes, too rigid a framework can result in people feeling powerless, not having a sense of agency or ownership. It’s a delicate balance that has to be specific to the culture and context.
Q: Your work spans from landscape ecology to tactical urbanism. How do you balance long-term, large-scale strategies with the immediate, citizen-driven interventions that tactical urbanism entails?
A: City making can be a long and complex process. Achieving a long term vision can take a lot of time and move very slowly. Therefore, it's important to have a set of tools that can enable citizens to solve pressing concerns and issues facing communities today. Tactical urbanism works best when it's done by and with surrounding communities as part of an effort to achieve long-term strategic change. Tactical urbanism can be a useful way of prototyping and testing new ideas and to enable the adaptation and evolution of city making practices.
Q: Your profile highlights your expertise in regenerative landscape design and urban ecology. Can you share a specific project where your approach transformed an urban space into a thriving ecosystem while fostering a strong sense of community engagement?
A: In 2009, we worked with the founder of Project Homeless Connect to transform an underutilized asphalt lot left vacant by the removal of the Central Artery Freeway in Hayes Valley into a community garden focused on serving underhoused people. Project Homeless Connect was a program initiated by Gavin Newsom as Mayor of San Francisco. The program has connected over 27,000 homeless individuals with essential services since its inception in 2004. The vision for the Growing Home Community Garden, located at 250 Octavia Street in Hayes Valley San Francisco was to offer a safe haven for people to get off the street, or out of shelters for a bit, and have the opportunity to experience the responsibility and nurturing involved in growing edible plants from scratch. Many of the volunteer members are homeless, in shelters, or formerly homeless. They meet weekly over communal meals to discuss different goals for the garden, and to share the work involved in maintaining an ambitious array of crops, including kale, cauliflower, berries, apples, carrots, passion fruit, and six different kinds of tomatoes. To date, over 285 people, including neighbors, students, artists and community members have participated in the garden’s efforts.
Jane Lin
Partners’ Info:
Heidi Sokolowsky
Frank Fuller
Ryan Call
John Bela
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