What Planning Next does

Planning NEXT is a privately held community planning and visioning consulting firm headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, founded in 1997 (originally as ACP Visioning + Planning, rebranded in 2016). The firm serves U.S. public-sector clients — cities, counties, townships, and regional planning organizations — across 23+ states plus limited international work, delivering an integrated suite of professional services including strategic planning, comprehensive planning, urban design, community engagement, and visual communication. Its core technology is its community engagement methodology and visual communication systems, which combine in-person facilitation (workshops, charrettes, stakeholder meetings) with digital/web-based engagement tools to translate complex planning concepts into accessible visual formats and build stakeholder consensus.

The firm operates on a fee-for-service professional services model, acquiring clients through direct outreach, RFP responses, and established relationships with municipal and county governments, with no publicly disclosed pricing and no software/SaaS revenue stream. Service delivery is led by a small core team of approximately 11–12 professionals — principals, senior planners, planners, a communications and marketing strategist, and an office manager — supported by a recurring 20–40 hour/week internship/co-op pipeline. Notable client engagements include Plan Cincinnati (2014 Daniel Burnham Award winner), East Franklinton Creative Community District (Columbus, OH), LinkUS corridor communications in Central Ohio, and strategic plans for Gahanna, OH; Fairfield County, OH; and Jackson County, MI, among others.

Planning NEXT is founder-owned and bootstrapped, with no external investors, parent company, or disclosed funding rounds. The firm has accumulated 30+ industry awards across national APA, multiple state APA chapters (Ohio, Indiana, Alabama, Georgia, Hawaii, Kansas, Missouri, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Virginia), the Congress for the New Urbanism, and the National IDA. Principal Jamie Greene, AIA FAICP, holds one of only ~500 AICP College of Fellows designations among the profession's 40,000+ members, anchoring the firm's reputation for award-winning planning work in urban, suburban, and rural contexts.

Name

Planning Next

Legal name

Planning NEXT

Website

https://planning-next.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1997

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Planning NEXT is a Columbus, Ohio-based community planning and visioning consulting firm founded in 1997, serving U.S. cities, counties, and regional planning organizations across 23+ states with strategic planning, comprehensive planning, urban design, community engagement, and visual communication services on a fee-for-service basis.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Urban & Community Planning Services

NAICS

Architectural Services (54131)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Urban Planning & Master Planning (BPAHAKAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Community Engagement & Participatory Planning (BPAHAKAO), Regional & Land Use Planning (BPAHAKAE)

Keywords

• Community planning services
• Strategic planning consulting
• Urban design services
• Community engagement consulting
• Comprehensive plan development

Headquarters

HQ city

Columbus

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Professional Planning Services: Fee-for-service consulting engagements for comprehensive planning, strategic planning, community engagement, and urban design services to government clients including cities, counties, townships, and regional planning organizations

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Planning NEXT is a community planning and visioning consulting firm delivering fee-for-service strategic planning, comprehensive planning, urban design, community engagement, and visual communication services to government agencies, municipalities, counties, townships, and regional planning organizations. Engagements typically involve facilitating inclusive visioning processes, developing actionable comprehensive and strategic plans, conducting stakeholder outreach, and producing visual communication assets that translate planning concepts into accessible formats for community adoption and implementation.

Product overview

Planning NEXT is a community planning and visioning consulting firm (formerly ACP Visioning + Planning) offering professional planning services to government agencies, municipalities, and community organizations. The company provides an integrated suite of services including strategic planning, comprehensive planning, urban design, community engagement, and visual communication. Rather than a software product, Planning NEXT delivers consulting engagements where teams work directly with communities to facilitate visioning processes, develop actionable plans, and support implementation. The firm's approach combines in-person workshops with digital engagement tools to help communities of all sizes navigate planning challenges and create more prosperous, livable places.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Strategic Planning and Visioning
• Comprehensive Planning and Urban Design Long-range planning services including comprehensive plans, area plans, and urban design frameworks that guide physical development and land use decisions; for cities, counties, and regional planning clients.
• Community Engagement Services In-person and virtual community engagement programs including workshops, charrettes, stakeholder meetings, and public outreach campaigns to gather citizen input and build consensus for planning processes; for government and public-sector clients.
• Social Media and Web-Based Communication Digital communication services including social media strategy, website development, and online engagement tools to extend reach and facilitate participation in planning processes.
• Visual Communication Graphics, mapping, rendering, and visual storytelling services that translate complex planning concepts into accessible visual formats for community understanding; supports comprehensive, strategic, and area planning deliverables.
• Pre-Planning Services Preliminary assessment and organizing activities that help align stakeholders and build effective planning frameworks before launching major planning efforts.

Quantifiable outcome

• Award-winning work recognized across multiple state APA chapters and nationally
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Ninigret Partnerssupporting partnerImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerSupporting partner on Miami Crossing project, providing additional expertise for the mall area master plan engagement

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• MIG, Inc. National community planning, engagement, and design consultancy headquartered in California with comparable service offerings across strategic planning, comprehensive planning, and public engagement. Directly competes for the same municipal RFP pool.
• Dover, Kohl & Partners: Community planning firm specializing in town plans, visioning, and charrette-based public engagement for municipalities. Directly comparable in service mix, scale, and government client base.
• Ferrell Madden Associates: Mid-sized planning firm offering comprehensive plans, strategic plans, and development code services to municipalities. Similar size, geography, and service mix to Planning NEXT.
• Town Planning & Urban Design Collaborative: Planning and urban design consultancy serving towns and cities with master plans and zoning. Closely comparable niche, scale, and public-sector focus.
• Houseal Lavigne Associates: Boutique planning and urban design firm offering comprehensive plans, sub-area plans, and zoning services to municipalities. Highly comparable in size, scope, and client type to Planning NEXT.
• Raimi + Associates: Planning and public engagement consultancy providing comprehensive plans, sustainability plans, and community engagement to municipalities in California and nationally. Directly comparable niche competitor.

Broad incumbents

• Stantec: Large global AEC firm with a substantial community planning and urban design practice. Competes for larger municipal planning RFPs and offers bundled services Planning NEXT cannot match.
• WSP: Global professional services firm with a planning and advisory practice serving public-sector clients. Represents a larger, more capitalized competitor for municipal and regional planning work.
• AECOM: Global infrastructure consulting firm with planning, design, and engineering capabilities. Competes with Planning NEXT for larger municipal and regional planning contracts where integrated delivery is required.

Emerging players

• Calthorpe Analytics: Urban planning analytics firm serving municipalities with land-use modeling and scenario planning tools. Comparable target client base (cities and counties) but more analytics-focused offering.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/planningnext
• Xx.com/planningnext

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 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 Planning Next