Our planning work specializes in cutting edge strategies for sustainable community design and urban redevelopment. Our firm was instrumental in the creation of the smart growth movement and the reintegration of design and placemaking into community planning, with a focus on rural places, downtowns, and village centers. We’ve developed widely used methods for balancing conservation and development and for planning and site design based on cultural landscapes, historic architectural patterns, and local ecology. This work has earned Dodson & Flinker national awards for projects ranging from regional planning to urban and suburban revitalization to sustainable site design.
As a combined planning and design practice, we bring our “on the ground” design experience to bear on every planning project. This includes regional greenway and open space studies, town-wide comprehensive plans, climate adaptation and resilience plans, and detailed plans for main streets, village centers, commercial corridors, mixed-use, affordable housing, and recreation facilities. We apply the designer’s tools of site analysis and conceptual planning to explore alternatives for the future. As ideas evolve, we use a variety of hand and digital media to create compelling illustrations that help the general public understand future alternatives and make informed decisions. We have conducted dozens of workshops and charrettes and are experts in building shared understanding and agreement on complex planning issues. Once plans are in place, we help towns to assess and revise their zoning, subdivision regulations, and other bylaws and guidelines to bring the plans to fruition.