the Neighborhood Design Center

Our Services

We partner with communities and local government agencies to provide top notch design, planning, and capacity-building services.

How does co-design work?

The Neighborhood Design Center specializes in participatory design and planning services that support equity in the built environment. Through a process we call co-design, we collaborate with our community partners to engage stakeholders — from funders and government agencies to neighborhood leaders and residents — and create responsive, community-driven design solutions. Our work enhances fundraising applications, garners public support for community-led projects, and is an advocacy tool for community members who are building healthy, welcoming places. 

How much do services cost?

Our services are available at no cost (pro bono), sliding scale, and market rate, depending on the project. With a staff of dedicated designers, facilitators and project managers — supported by a robust network of volunteer planners, architects, and artists — we partner on projects large and small, across jurisdictions in Maryland and Washington, D.C. 

How do we get started?

Whether you are a community organization, nonprofit, government agency, or firm, we encourage you to reach out to discuss your goals and needs.

Contact Laura Robinson

For Landscape Design and Environmental Resilience Planning projects, please email lrobinson@ndc-md.org

Contact Christina Hartsfield

For Architecture and Community Planning projects, please email chartsfield@ndc-md.org

department

Landscape Design and Environmental Resilience Planning

Well-designed public landscapes and gardens provide meaningful community spaces, mental restoration, and room for reflection and healing. We work across scales and specialize in participatory planning — because great designs are informed by and for the community.

    • Community Landscape Design

    • Schoolyards and Learning Environments

    • Green Infrastructure Design and Planning

    • Community Forestry

    • Multimodal Transportation and Pedestrian Planning

Community Landscape Design

We create accessible outdoor spaces that respond to the community's wants and needs, from single lots to neighborhood greenspace networks.

    • Neighborhood Parks and Pocket Parks 

    • Playgrounds and Playscapes

    • Community Gardens and Healing Gardens

    • Interpretative Trails and Streetscapes

    • Vacant Lot Redesign

    • Neighborhood Greening Plans

    • Native, Pollinator, and Bay-friendly Planting Plans

    • Planting Events and Education

    • Project and Grant Management

    • Visualizations

See Examples

Schoolyards and Learning Environments

We believe that access to safe and functional areas for outdoor learning is key to student physical and mental health as well as learning outcomes.

    • Outdoor Classrooms and STEM Spaces

    • Environmental Education

    • Schoolyard planting plans

    • Nature Play

    • Tree Planting Workshops

    • Schoolyard Learning Gardens

    • Sensory Play and Learning

See Examples

Green Infrastructure

Our environmental resilience planning team integrates Best Management Practices (BMPs) for stormwater management, flood mitigation, and climate change to address community concerns.

    • Green Infrastructure Master Planning

    • Green Infrastructure Inventories and Maintenance Plans

    • Green and Complete Street Plans

    • Stormwater Management Concept Plans

    • Stormwater Management Training and Capacity-building for Communities and Municipalities

See Examples

Community Forestry

Whether working at the neighborhood scale, on a city street, or in a pocket park, our certified arborists support communities to leverage the many public health benefits of a healthy tree canopy.

    • Urban and Community Forest Management Plans

    • Municipal and Neighborhood Tree Inventories

    • Street Tree Design

    • Food Forest Design

    • Tree Planting Demonstrations and Education

See Examples

department

Architecture and Community Planning

The Architecture and Community Planning team at the Neighborhood Design Center specializes in participatory architectural design, place-based arts initiatives, and planning. Our team of architects, designers, planners, and engagement specialists hold strong commitments to design excellence, social justice, and responsive plans that prioritize community power and increased local self-determination.

    • Engagement and Facilitation

    • Community Planning

    • Architectural and Interior Design

    • Arts Planning and Cultural Programming

Engagement and Facilitation

Our staff is trained to make organization and community-scale decision-making easier and more inclusive. As facilitators, we design the engagement process, structure meetings and workshops, document the process, and provide findings to enable stakeholders to bring their expertise to projects. Your group will come away with a more unified vision and an enhanced ability to work as a cohesive team.

    • Youth engagement

    • Community and Project Visioning

    • Place-based Strategic Planning

    • Design Charrettes

    • Asset Mapping 

    • Train-the-trainer Workshops 

    • Coalition Building

    • Engagement Training 

See Examples

Community Planning

Our planning team helps neighbors define a collective vision about how their community should look and function. We prioritize bringing the right people to the project early and work to build actionable and inspirational documents that will guide the creation of just and equitable places. 

    • Neighborhood Plans 

    • Site Planning and Feasibility Studies

    • Zoning & Regulatory Analysis

    • Architectural Streetscape Plans and Design Guidelines

    • Main Street Identity

    • Housing Strategy Planning

See Examples

Architectural and Interior Design

In collaboration with you and a team of stakeholders, we identify a vision for your space, produce design options that reflect what we’ve heard, and deliver design documents that you can use to fundraise, apply for grants, or further develop designs with a licensed design professional.

    • Code Analysis

    • Site Planning

    • Conceptual Building and Space Plans (Existing Buildings and New Construction)

    • Arts Space Technical Assistance Program

    • Interior Design and Furniture Plans 

    • Facade Improvement Programs (Design and Management)

    • Visualizations

    • Project Management

See Examples

Arts Planning and Cultural Programming

Our placemaking team listens to the unique history of each neighborhood and proposes design and art solutions that anchor and amplify those stories in place. We can support you in identifying public art opportunities, artist selection, designing placemaking elements and events, or securing a historic designation for your building or neighborhood. 

    • Public Art and Administration (Includes Artist Residency Programs, Management of Artist RFQs and RFPs)

    • Public Art Implementation 

    • Placekeeping and Placemaking

    • Historic Preservation

    • Place-based Identity  

    • Public Space Design

    • Cultural and Public Artplans

See Examples

Streetscape and Pedestrian Planning

We work with communities on plans that maximize safety for all, enhance ecological functions and economic appeal of the streetscape, and create great, dynamic streets that reflect their respective communities. Depending on community needs, plans may address sidewalks, bicycle lanes, bus lanes, public transportation stops, crossing opportunities, median islands, and more.

    • Complete Street Engagement and Conceptual Design Plans

    • Safe Routes to School Engagement and Design Plans

    • Bike and Pedestrian Infrastructure (Off-road Trails and Amenities) and Connectivity Plans

See Examples

Watch the powerful partnership between NDC and NEHI

The North East Housing Initiative is just one of our amazing partners, but a great example of how the Neighborhood Design Center helps all voices to be heard and provides the tools, plans, and connections to help communites achieve their neighborhood dreams.