Meet, Exchange, Settle and Build.
Civitas is an ancient idea that people meet, exchange, settle and build a community around shared resources. They call it home.
Cities exist because we need connections and access. The vernacular city sits where paths cross, water and food are available and the climate supports settlement. But as times and technology change, the patterns of the city, values, and meanings change. Today we have new ways of connecting that are causing change that is faster than any time in history. What does that mean for the Civitas Idea?
New technologies expand the way we touch one another. They impact what we know and what we care about. We see things in new ways, and the meaning of our world shifts a little. We are seeing global social innovation and political change as a result. When people connect around new issues where do they show it? In public places that mean something to them. The town square, the park, the steps of the Capitol — this is where people express their needs.
Public spaces are not just pretty, formal places to set buildings. They are where people connect. They bind the fabric of every culture. Today these connections are physical + local and technological + global. We are in a place and in multiple networks at the same time. This new complexity makes the public realm more important. Some urbanists think the answer lies in walkability, others promote placemaking and others think that mobility or resiliency are key.
We believe that the core patterns and networks of public spaces, streets, passages, open spaces and natural corridors together are the true foundation of urbanism.
These interwoven connections make every activity accessible, from chance encounter to organized social and economic exchange. Physical connections and spaces of all types and sizes, each suited to their locale and culture, and each making connections among people, lead to healthier, more sustainable, and more equitable cities.
The Civitas Idea means that design should find ways to make the public realm richer, more connected, more adaptable and more resilient to change. We see design as our attempt to bring people and issues together in patterns that build on the past, add new activity and set a course for positive trends in how people use their city. We don’t think there is a right way to do it, or that we have the all answers. We think it is our job to question, listen and bring together the best of what we learn in a new answer that is unique to each problem.
We believe that the core patterns and networks of public spaces, streets, passages, open spaces and natural corridors together are the true foundation of urbanism.
These interwoven connections make every activity accessible, from chance encounter to organized social and economic exchange. Physical connections and spaces of all types and sizes, each suited to their locale and culture, and each making connections among people, lead to healthier, more sustainable, and more equitable cities.
The Civitas Idea means that design should find ways to make the public realm richer, more connected, more adaptable and more resilient to change. We see design as our attempt to bring people and issues together in patterns that build on the past, add new activity and set a course for positive trends in how people use their city. We don’t think there is a right way to do it, or that we have the all answers. We think it is our job to question, listen and bring together the best of what we learn in a new answer that is unique to each problem.
City as Landscape
The city is a landscape, one that holds buildings and people together. The landscape is what weaves people and places into a whole. It is not always green, but more and more we understand that green is better. Green makes us feel better, green cleans our air and green holds carbon. Green feeds us and reminds us that our lives are better when nature is near and accessible.
Strategies
Design is not just form, pattern or materials. Design is also strategy. Design thinking is a powerful tool to ask the questions that reveal patterns, trends and forces that create an urban issue or condition. Without understanding these forces, design can’t change them. So our goal is to find the strategies that will put change into motion.
We are about getting to the bottom of things, seeing beyond common assumptions, and finding connections and meanings where others may not see them. We find creative ideas in ordinary problems and we find complexities that others miss. The most effective design ties all these things together into new forms, materials and expressions that make a difference.
Our approach is simple. We understand, question, investigate, discover, play, reformulate, test, discard and repeat.
Ours is a learning process that leads to new ideas and solutions, whether the problems are old or new. We are about creativity and innovation, but not for their own sake.
Design has to work, meet budgets, be on time, and perform at the highest levels whatever the program and cost. Design must be accountable.
We work between bursts of fierce creative inspiration and hard introspection into what the consequences of our ideas might be. We are left brain and right brain, at once and together. We believe that in the design of cities, less is not more. More is more. We just have to make more out of less to truly be effective.
Our approach is simple. We understand, question, investigate, discover, play, reformulate, test, discard and repeat.
Ours is a learning process that leads to new ideas and solutions, whether the problems are old or new. We are about creativity and innovation, but not for their own sake.
Design has to work, meet budgets, be on time, and perform at the highest levels whatever the program and cost. Design must be accountable.
We work between bursts of fierce creative inspiration and hard introspection into what the consequences of our ideas might be. We are left brain and right brain, at once and together. We believe that in the design of cities, less is not more. More is more. We just have to make more out of less to truly be effective.
Civitas, Inc.
1200 Bannock St.,
Denver, CO 80204
303.571.0053
info@civitasinc.com
New Business
& Press Inquiries
Blake Booth Jordan
303.571.0053 x120
marketing@civitasinc.com
Katie Breest, Agency PR
kbreest@agencypr.co
Employment
Civitas is always looking for talented individuals to join our creative team. If you (or someone you know) is seeking a meaningful career in landscape architecture and urban planning, feel free send your resume to jobs@civitasinc.com. We hope to hear from you!
