What Ecocity Builders does

Ecocity Builders is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1992 and headquartered in Oakland, California. It develops frameworks, tools, and convening programs to advance ecological urban design and sustainable city planning. Its core offerings include the Ecocity Framework & Standards (18 diagnostic conditions across four pillars: Urban Design, Bio-Geo-Physical, Socio-Cultural, and Ecological), the Urbinsight Platform (a web-based participatory mapping and data visualization system built on ArcGIS and PUMIS), the EcoCompass curriculum, Ecocity VR (360-degree immersive education), and consulting services. Supporting tools include MetaFlow software from Graphical Memes for urban metabolism visualization.

The organization serves four primary segments: municipal governments and city administrations (e.g., Medellín, Cusco, Lalitpur, Al Omrane/Morocco), academic and research institutions (EAFIT, PUCP, BCIT, Cairo University), community-based organizations and citizens engaged in participatory planning, and international bodies such as UN Environment, UN-Habitat, and the U.S. State Department. Programs are delivered through pilot city engagements, the biennial Ecocity World Summit (the longest-running conference on ecological urbanism, with 12 editions across multiple continents), and the Ecocity Forum series.

Revenue is generated from donations (Donorbox, Network for Good), project-based grants (U.S. State Department Secondary Cities, UN Environment GI-REC, Al Omrane), conference ticket sales, and fee-for-service consulting. The organization has 11–50 employees and no disclosed revenue or funding-round history; it operates without venture or private equity backing.

Name

Ecocity Builders

Legal name

Ecocity Builders

Website

https://ecocitybuilders.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1992

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Ecocity Builders is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1992 and headquartered in Oakland, California, that develops frameworks, tools, and convening programs to help municipal governments, academic institutions, and communities advance ecological urban design and participatory urban metabolism planning.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Sustainable Urban Planning Services

NAICS

Landscape Architectural Services (54132)

akta.pro primary industry

Sustainable Cities, Urban Development & Green Infrastructure (BPADALAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Landscape Architecture & Site Design (BPAHAKAC), Environmental Education, Capacity Building & Community Engagement (BPADALAO)

Keywords

• Ecological urbanism consulting
• Urban metabolism mapping
• Sustainable city planning
• Ecocity framework standards
• Participatory urban research

Headquarters

HQ city

Oakland

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, Ecocity Builders relies on donations from individuals and organizations. The website prominently features a 'Donate Now!' CTA linking to Donorbox, indicating this as a primary revenue stream.
2. Grants and Government Funding: The organization receives funding from government programs such as the U.S. State Department's Secondary Cities (2C) initiative and UN Environment Program's Global Initiative for Resource Efficient Cities (GI-REC), as well as Al Omrane Morocco for ecocity projects.
3. Consulting Services: Ecocity Builders offers consulting services to cities and municipalities seeking to implement ecocity frameworks, urban metabolism assessments, and sustainable neighborhood planning. This represents a fee-for-service revenue component.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Ecocity Builders is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that provides urban design, education, consulting, and conference services focused on ecological urbanism. Core offerings include the Urbinsight web-based mapping and data visualization platform for participatory urban metabolism analysis, the Ecocity Framework & Standards diagnostic methodology (18 standards across four pillars: Urban Design, Bio-Geo-Physical, Socio-Cultural, and Ecological), the biennial Ecocity World Summit conference series, the EcoCompass curriculum library, and consulting engagements to help cities and municipalities implement sustainable urban development practices.

Product overview

Ecocity Builders offers a suite of interconnected programs, platforms, and tools focused on ecological urbanism. The core product is the Urbinsight Platform, a dynamic web-based mapping and visualization system for participatory urban metabolism analysis. Supporting modules include the EcoCompass (participatory research curriculum) and the Ecocity Framework & Standards (18-condition diagnostic tool). Additional offerings include the biennial Ecocity World Summit conference, Ecocity Forum for thematic exploration, Ecocity VR immersive education, CarbonGood program, and consulting services. The products work together to enable cities to assess, measure, and improve their environmental conditions using a bottom-up, community-engaged approach.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Urbinsight Platform A dynamic web-based mapping and visualization platform that enables participatory urban metabolism analysis. The platform connects neighborhoods with crowd-mapping tools, allowing users to view map layers and input data based on quality-of-life surveys and parcel audits conducted by local stakeholders, for cities and communities pursuing ecocity assessment.
• EcoCompass An integrated library of participatory research curriculum for urban resilience, developed in partnership with multiple universities. Includes training-of-trainers resources, interactive workshop activities, downloadable presentations, a best-practice document database, video tutorials, and exchange forums, targeted at educators, municipal staff, and community trainers.
• Ecocity Framework & Standards (IEFS) A practical diagnostic methodology comprising 18 standards organized within four categories (Urban Design, Bio-Geo-Physical, Socio-Cultural, and Ecological) that enables cities and citizens to measure progress toward ecologically restorative urban conditions.
• Ecocity World Summit A biennial conference series bringing together practitioners in ecological urbanism and sustainable cities. The longest-running conference on ecological urbanism, convening practitioners from around the world in cities including Rotterdam (2022), Vancouver (2019), Abu Dhabi (2015), and others.
• Ecocity Forum A forum for in-depth exploration of themes and issues related to urban ecology, providing ongoing engagement between major summit events for urban practitioners, academics, and city officials.
• Ecocity VR Virtual reality tours using 360-degree video to educate about the four pillars of the Ecocity Framework. Available on phone, tablet, with or without VR headset, with the inaugural tour featuring San Francisco examples for students and public learners.
• CarbonGood A program offering related to carbon reduction and management within the ecocity framework, addressing carbon management for cities and partner organizations.
• Consulting Services Professional consulting services to help cities access ecocity knowledge and implement sustainable urban development practices, including ecocity framework assessments, urban metabolism analysis, and Sustainable Neighborhood Plans for municipal clients.
• Profiles in Urban Metabolism An educational multimedia blog/vlog series produced in coordination with UN Environment's GI-REC initiative, profiling urban metabolism case studies in cities like Cusco, Cape Town, Brussels, and Medellín for city practitioners and the general public.

Quantifiable outcome

• 50% of household waste found to be organic in Cusco neighborhoods, leading to co-designed composting modules piloted in four communities
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

19 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• UN Environment / Global Initiative for Resource Efficient Cities (GI-REC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUN Environment's Cities Unit partnered with Ecocity Builders on the Global Initiative for Resource Efficient Cities (GI-REC) to help cities develop systemic approaches such as urban metabolism for evidence-based decision-making. GI-REC commissioned Ecocity Builders to produce the Profiles in Urban Metabolism educational multimedia series showcasing real-world applications of urban metabolism in city planning and management.
• British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT), School of Construction and the EnvironmentcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBCIT is the Lead Sponsor of the International Ecocity Framework and Standards Initiative. Marco Vangelisti of Ecocity Builders has contributed to the development of Ecocity Standards since its inception in 2011 in partnership with BCIT's School of Construction and the Environment.
• Pontifical Catholic University of Peru (PUCP)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPUCP is a key academic partner in the Cusco and Lima pilot cities. Sofia Castro is an instructor and researcher at PUCP, and Javier Ramirez More serves as GIS Director at PUCP's Center for Research in Applied Geography (CIGA), providing academic leadership in GIS and remote sensing for ecocity projects.
• Association of American Geographers (AAG)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as a current partner on the Ecocity Builders partners page, indicating ongoing collaboration in the field of geographic and urban research.
• Organization of American States (OAS)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as a current partner, indicating collaboration in sustainable urban development across the Americas.
• Graphical MemescoreTechnology or IntegrationDevelopers of MetaFlow software, used by Ecocity Builders to generate interactive system-wide diagrams of urban resource flows. Co-founded by Dr. Sebastian Moffatt (pioneer of the MetaFlow urban metabolism visualization methodology) and Dr. Philip Mansfield. MetaFlow is a key tool in elucidating urban metabolism for ecocity design.
• EsricoreTechnology or IntegrationEsri partnered with Ecocity Builders through a private-public partnership with the U.S. Department of State at Habitat III, providing GIS technology support for the Ecocitizen World Map Project and Urbinsight mapping activities.
• Helen and William Mazer FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Mazer Foundation has been instrumental in supporting Ecocity Builders' major San Francisco 7th International Ecocity Conference, redesign of Berkeley's major downtown street link from regional transit to UC Berkeley, and the development of the International Framework and Standards for assessing and guiding cities' progress toward urban sustainability.
• Al Omrane (Morocco)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMorocco's social housing developer partnered with UN Environment Program and Ecocity Builders on the Ecocity Morocco initiative, developing seven digital city models and supporting ecocity technologies for circular economies and local job creation.
• UN-HabitatcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEcocity Builders has partnered with UN-Habitat through multiple initiatives, including hosting a virtual reality event in partnership with UN Habitat's Urban Thinkers Campus, participation in Habitat III in Quito, and collaboration through UN-Habitat's University Network Initiative and Stakeholders Advisory Group (SAGE).
• U.S. State Department — Secondary Cities (2C) InitiativecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Secondary Cities program of the U.S. State Department has funded Ecocity Builders' Urbinsight pilots in Medellín (Colombia), Cusco (Peru), and Santiago (Dominican Republic). Phase 2 funding was confirmed in late 2016 for continued implementation of participatory urban metabolism assessments.
• University of EAFIT, MedellíncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMain academic partner for Secondary Cities Urbinsight in Medellín, Colombia. Through its Urban Research institute URBAM, the university has strong community and municipal relationships, positioning it to continue implementing community-based data collection drives, mapathons, and data sharing partnerships throughout the greater Aburrá Valley.
• Low Carbon City (LCC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerA Medellín-based and internationally recognized nonprofit organization with strong ties to the Boston community in Medellín. LCC served as the community-based partner in Phase 2 of the 2C/Medellín Urbinsight project, co-leading community engagement, data collection, and educational workshops.
• Sustainability InstituteminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for the production of educational content on urban metabolism, collaborating with Ecocity Builders and other organizations in the GI-REC blog/vlog series.
• Metabolism of CitiesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered with Ecocity Builders in the GI-REC multimedia series to profile urban metabolism applications. The co-founder of Metabolism of Cities, Aristide Athanassiadis, contributed insights on urban metabolism for the Brussels case study.
• Planning Department of the Mayor's Office of MedellíncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLead municipal partner in the development of the Sustainable Neighborhood Plan for Moravia, providing neighborhood map layers, data, and collaborative planning support. The Planning Department expressed interest in using the urban metabolism methodology for city-wide data collection.
• Metropolitan Area of the Aburrá ValleyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in the Sustainable Neighborhood Plan for Moravia, contributing regional coordination and environmental expertise for Medellín and surrounding municipalities.
• Cairo University (Faculty of Engineering)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDr. Heba Khalil, professor of sustainable urbanism at Cairo University, serves as Advisor on Sustainable Urbanism for Ecocity Builders. Dr. Sahar Attia, Emeritus Professor at Cairo University, is a board member contributing expertise in urban planning, community development, and informal area upgrading.
• World BankminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as a client of Dr. Zakarya Driss, Ecological Engineering and Urban Systems Consultant who supports Ecocity Builders' special projects, indicating indirect engagement through consulting partnerships.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Market position

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/EcocityBuilder
• Facebookfacebook.com/ecocitybuilders

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles20 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Ecocity Builders