Civitas is not ordinary and Civitots are not ordinary people.

We are a bit quirky, individual and have different kinds of intelligence.

We don’t rely on a set of skills; we rely on a set of interacting minds to make creativity visible and effective. We are passionate, funny, big, small, quiet and loud. All of these moods and modes are critical to keeping our minds open to new discoveries that might make a difference. But we are not glib or satisfied. We always have more to learn.

Devoted to Design

Civitas is a culture devoted to the potential of design thinking and the transformative power of design. We are a collective, learning and sharing with each other, with our clients and the communities where we work. We have encountered some of the most challenging urban problems and try hard to discover the truths and myths that define a place. We are wired to find ideas that bring new life into old places and reverse patterns of failure.

Devoted to Design

Civitas is a culture devoted to the potential of design thinking and the transformative power of design. We are a collective, learning and sharing with each other, with our clients and the communities where we work. We have encountered some of the most challenging urban problems and try hard to discover the truths and myths that define a place. We are wired to find ideas that bring new life into old places and reverse patterns of failure.

We Question Common Thinking.

We don’t bring our own answers to the problem because we don’t think we are quite smart enough to know the answers. We find new answers from within the problem. To do that we question common thinking, toss out crazy ideas, listen to all opinions and challenge each other to get beyond what a problem seems to be. We want to know what the real problem is, how it got that way, and why our ideas will actually make it better. That doesn’t work on one try. So we keep trying!