City Design Studio
City Design Studio is a Los Angeles-based urban design, architecture, and planning firm founded in 1993, serving public agencies and private developers on transit-oriented development, master planning, and community revitalization projects across four continents with a core team of approximately 10 professionals.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1993
- HeadquartersLos Angeles, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What City Design Studio does
City Design Studio is a privately held urban design, architecture, and planning firm headquartered in Los Angeles, founded in 1993 and operating from a downtown LA office since March 2024. The firm provides integrated design services spanning master planning, transit-oriented development (TOD), adaptive reuse, architecture, and community revitalization for public agencies and private developers. Its core technology is human-led design expertise rather than software platforms, anchored by an integrated consensus-building process refined over three decades of community-focused practice.
The firm's revenue model is project-based professional services fees, acquired through RFP submissions, design competitions, and direct client relationships with repeat public-sector and institutional developer clients. Notable engagements include the Intuit Dome Plaza for the LA Clippers in Inglewood (2019-2024, 37,000 SF), the West Santa Ana Branch TOD Strategic Implementation Plan for LA Metro (9,750 acres across 14 communities), the 1,200-acre Manas Pune Township for Pacifica Companies, and the 152-acre King Fahd City Center Urban Design Plan for the Royal Commission of Madinat Yanbu Al Sinaiyah. Active hiring and recent office expansion indicate ongoing capacity build-out.
City Design Studio serves a horizontal client base spanning transit agencies, municipal redevelopment authorities, nonprofit housing organizations, and private real estate developers across four continents (North America, Europe, Asia, Middle East). The firm is led by Principal Farooq Ameen, elevated to the AIA College of Fellows in 2025, supported by a nine-person core team of designers, architects, and consulting planners. Supporting the practice, the firm publishes research including the 458-page deCoding Asian Urbanism (2021) and Low Rise Mid Rise High Rise (2023), positioning the studio as a thought leader in TOD and Asian urbanism.
City Design Studio firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- City Design Studio
- Legal name
- City Design Studio
- Website
- https://citydesign-studio.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1993
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- City Design Studio is a Los Angeles-based urban design, architecture, and planning firm founded in 1993, serving public agencies and private developers on transit-oriented development, master planning, and community revitalization projects across four continents with a core team of approximately 10 professionals.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
City Design Studio industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Urban Design and Architecture Services
- NAICS
- Architectural Services (54131), Interior Design Services (54141), Landscape Architectural Services (54132)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Urban Planning & Master Planning (BPAHAKAD)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Architectural Design Services (BPAHAKAA), Interior Design Services (BPAHAKAB), Community Engagement & Participatory Planning (BPAHAKAO), Urban & Regional Planning (Land Use, Zoning, Master Planning) (BPAIANAD)
Keywords
Where City Design Studio is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Los Angeles
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
City Design Studio business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Professional Services - Urban Design and Planning: Project-based fees for urban design, architecture, master planning, and consulting services for public agencies and private developers on community revitalization, transit-oriented development, and mixed-use projects.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels5 records
City Design Studio product offering
Product offeringCore offering
City Design Studio is an urban design, architecture, and planning firm that delivers integrated professional services in master planning, transit-oriented development, and community revitalization. The firm works with public agencies and private developers on civic, cultural, commercial, and residential projects, including corridor studies, specific plans, EIRs, adaptive reuse, and large-scale mixed-use master plans. Services are delivered as bespoke, project-based engagements led by a small in-house team in collaboration with external architecture and engineering partners.
Product overview
City Design Studio is an urban design, architecture, and planning firm offering integrated design services focused on community revitalization. The portfolio encompasses urban design services (master planning, transit-oriented development, corridor studies), architecture services (civic, cultural, commercial, residential projects), and planning services (specific plans, implementation strategies). Supporting their practice, the firm produces publications documenting research on urban design topics including the deCoding Asian Urbanism initiative and Low Rise, Mid Rise, High Rise housing studies. The services are project-based rather than a software platform.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Urban Design Services
- Architecture Services
- Planning Services Strategic urban planning services including corridor studies, specific plans, Environmental Impact Reports (EIRs), and transit-oriented development implementation strategies for municipalities and transit agencies.
- deCoding Asian Urbanism Publication A 458-page published book documenting a decade-long research initiative on transformative architecture and urbanism in Asia, edited by principal Farooq Ameen and supported by Harvard, Art Center College of Design, and Bengal Foundation.
- Low Rise, Mid Rise, High Rise Publication Published book examining housing typologies in contemporary Los Angeles, organized by Frances Anderton and Stephen Phillips, addressing low-rise, mid-rise, and high-rise housing typologies.
- 50 Under 50 Innovators Publication Published book recognizing 50 innovators of the 21st century, co-authored by Beverly Russell, Eva L. Maddox, and principal Farooq Ameen, profiling influential voices in contemporary architecture and design.
Quantifiable outcome
- Intuit Dome Plaza project recognized by Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design (2023)
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use City Design Studio
Customer profileNamed customers7 records
Segments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
City Design Studio technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
City Design Studio partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Six partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- AECOMcorePrimary consultant and collaborator on multiple major projects including Intuit Dome Plaza Buildings and Inglewood Parking Structures. Provides engineering and technical services across urban design projects.
- Anderson-BarkercoreArchitecture firm collaborator on Intuit Dome Plaza Buildings, Rosecrans Apartments, and KSV Transitional Housing projects. Ongoing partnership across multiple project engagements.
- Hood Design StudiocoreDesign collaborator on Intuit Dome Plaza Buildings project providing landscape and urban design expertise.
- Art Center College of DesigncoreAcademic partner for deCoding Asian Urbanism exhibition and research initiative. Multi-year collaboration on exhibition development, symposium, and publication.
- Harvard University Lakshmi Mittal & Family South Asian InstitutecoreAcademic partner for deCoding Asian Urbanism project including symposium at Harvard and ongoing research collaboration.
- Bengal FoundationcoreCultural foundation partner for deCoding Asian Urbanism exhibition and publication supporting South Asian architecture and urban design discourse.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights4 records
City Design Studio competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Cooper Robertson: New York-based architecture and urban design firm focused on masterplans, mixed-use districts, and civic-scale urban design. Directly comparable to City Design Studio on urban design leadership, mixed-use district planning, and public-private masterplan engagements.
- Moule & Polyzoides: Pasadena-based architecture and urban design firm widely regarded as a California pioneer in transit-oriented development and New Urbanism. Directly comparable to City Design Studio on TOD-specific planning, California civic clients, and a small-firm, principal-led operating model.
- Torti Gallas + Partners: National architecture and urban design firm specializing in TOD, mixed-use, and walkable urbanism, with deep public-sector planning experience. Closely comparable to City Design Studio on TOD masterplans, civic-sector clients, and community-driven urban design methodology.
- OPTICOS Design: Berkeley-based planning and architecture firm specializing in form-based codes, missing-middle housing, and TOD. Comparable to City Design Studio on California civic clients, missing-middle and affordable housing typology work, and community-revitalization focus.
- SWA Group: Landscape architecture, urban design, and planning firm with a strong masterplanning practice and international footprint. Comparable to City Design Studio on large-scale mixed-use and waterfront masterplans (e.g., King Fahd City Center) and on integrated landscape-urban design delivery.
Broad incumbents
- Perkins&Will: Major global architecture and design firm with an active urban design and planning practice. Overlaps with City Design Studio on civic, institutional, and TOD engagements, but delivers through a much larger multi-disciplinary organization.
- Sasaki Associates: International planning, urban design, and landscape architecture firm with deep masterplanning experience. Comparable to City Design Studio on large-scale mixed-use, campus, and district masterplans for institutional and public-sector clients.
- HOK: Large global design, architecture, and planning firm with an established urban design and TOD practice. Comparable to City Design Studio on transit-oriented and mixed-use masterplans, but operating at materially larger scale and with broader geographic reach.
- Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM): Global architecture, engineering, and urban design firm with a long-standing urbanism and masterplanning practice. Operates broadly in the same TOD and large-scale urban design space as City Design Studio, but as a much larger incumbent with a global bench.
- AECOM: Global infrastructure and design firm with a major urban planning and TOD practice. Already a documented collaborator with City Design Studio on the Intuit Dome and Inglewood Parking Structures, and a direct competitor on large-scale public TOD RFPs.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
City Design Studio social profiles
Digital presenceCity Design Studio financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
City Design Studio leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles9 records
City Design Studio funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
City Design Studio M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about City Design Studio
What does City Design Studio do?
City Design Studio is an urban design, architecture, and planning firm that delivers integrated professional services in master planning, transit-oriented development, and community revitalization. The firm works with public agencies and private developers on civic, cultural, commercial, and residential projects, including corridor studies, specific plans, EIRs, adaptive reuse, and large-scale mixed-use master plans. Services are delivered as bespoke, project-based engagements led by a small in-house team in collaboration with external architecture and engineering partners.
Is City Design Studio a public or private company?
City Design Studio is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was City Design Studio founded?
City Design Studio was founded in 1993. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is City Design Studio based?
City Design Studio is headquartered in Los Angeles, United States, in the North America region.
How does City Design Studio make money?
One revenue line is on record: professional Services - Urban Design and Planning.
Who are City Design Studio's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Cooper Robertson, Moule & Polyzoides, Torti Gallas + Partners, OPTICOS Design and SWA Group. Broad incumbents are Perkins&Will, Sasaki Associates, HOK, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) and AECOM.
Does City Design Studio have an API?
No public API is recorded for City Design Studio.
What industry is City Design Studio in?
City Design Studio's product category is Urban Design and Architecture Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAHAKAD, Urban Planning & Master Planning, with a secondary code of BPAHAKAA, Architectural Design Services. Its NAICS code is 54131.