Community Design + Architecture
Community Design + Architecture is an Oakland-based urban design, planning, landscape architecture, and architecture firm serving government clients—including cities, counties, and transit agencies—across the Western United States with select international projects.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1997
- HeadquartersOakland, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Community Design + Architecture does
Community Design + Architecture (CD+A) is an urban design, planning, landscape architecture, transportation/land use planning, and architecture firm headquartered in Oakland, California. Founded in September 1997 by Phil Erickson after 15 prior years of Bay Area practice, CD+A delivers project-based consulting services to government clients, including cities, counties, transit districts, and regional planning authorities, primarily across the Western United States with select projects in Florida, Minnesota, Virginia, New York, and internationally in the Philippines, Indonesia, Australia, Dubai, and Japan. The firm is a certified small business enterprise.
CD+A's core offerings fall into five service lines: urban design and placemaking (for example, the 13th Street Commons pavement-to-plaza project in Oakland and the Downtown Berkeley BART Plaza), transportation planning (the 9.5-mile TEMPO BRT corridor for AC Transit, the Senter Road Multimodal Safety Study, the Berkeley Strategic Transportation Plan), green infrastructure planning (the Oakland Green Stormwater Infrastructure Plan, Belmont Green Infrastructure Plan), specific and precise plan preparation (Tesoro Viejo Specific Plan, East Whisman Precise Plan, Bergamot Area Plan), and policy/guidance documents (the Bus Parklet Design Manual, Green Streets Best Management Practices Handbook, Oakland Great Streets Manual). The firm's proprietary stack includes a GIS-based street typology framework that pairs transportation functions with complete street design characteristics through base street types, multimodal emphasis overlays, and land use context overlays.
Commercially, CD+A generates revenue through professional services fees, primarily fixed-price or cost-reimbursable contracts won through competitive bidding (RFPs/RFQs) and direct engagements with public-sector clients. The go-to-market motion is sales-led and relationship-driven, supported by a portfolio-focused website and LinkedIn/Instagram/Facebook presence rather than active demand generation. Pricing is project-based and not publicly disclosed. Notable codified expertise includes the first US Bus Parklet Design Manual and one of the earliest Green Streets guidance documents, both of which are referenced as category-defining deliverables in the firm's positioning.
Community Design + Architecture firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Community Design + Architecture
- Legal name
- Community Design + Architecture
- Website
- https://community-design.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1997
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Community Design + Architecture is an Oakland-based urban design, planning, landscape architecture, and architecture firm serving government clients—including cities, counties, and transit agencies—across the Western United States with select international projects.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Community Design + Architecture industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Urban Planning and Design Services
- NAICS
- Architectural Services (54131), Landscape Architectural Services (54132), Architectural, Engineering, and Related Services (5413)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Urban Planning & Master Planning (BPAHAKAD)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Architectural Design Services (BPAHAKAA), Urban & Regional Planning (Land Use, Zoning, Master Planning) (BPAIANAD)
Keywords
Where Community Design + Architecture is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Oakland
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Community Design + Architecture business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Professional Planning and Design Services: Revenue is generated through consulting fees for urban design, planning, landscape architecture, and transportation/land use planning services. Projects are typically fee-for-service engagements with government clients, ranging from conceptual planning phases through construction documentation and administration.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels4 records
Community Design + Architecture product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Community Design + Architecture is an Oakland, California-based urban design, planning, landscape architecture, and architecture firm serving public-sector clients. Founded in 1997 by Phil Erickson, the firm delivers specific plans, transportation/land use planning, complete streets design, and green infrastructure planning for cities, transit agencies, and counties. CD+A has also produced nationally recognized manuals including the Bus Parklet Design Manual, Oakland Great Streets Manual, and Green Streets Best Management Practices Handbook.
Product overview
Community Design + Architecture (CD+A) is an urban design, planning, landscape architecture, transportation/land use planning, and architecture firm offering professional design services rather than a software product. Their portfolio consists of project-based consulting services including: urban design and placemaking (13th Street Commons, Downtown Berkeley BART Plaza), transportation planning (TEMPO Bus Rapid Transit, Senter Road Multimodal Safety Study), green infrastructure planning (Oakland Green Stormwater Infrastructure Plan, Belmont Green Infrastructure Plan), complete streets design (Oakland Great Streets Manual, 40th Street Bus Hub), specific/precise plan preparation (Tesoro Viejo Specific Plan, East Whisman Precise Plan, Bergamot Area Plan), and policy guidance documents (Bus Parklet Design Manual, Green Streets Best Management Practices Handbook). Their projects span the Western United States, Florida, Minnesota, Virginia, New York, and internationally in the Philippines, Indonesia, Australia, Dubai, and Japan. CD+A is a certified small business enterprise with over 20 years of experience.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Urban Design Services
Quantifiable outcome
- Over 30 grant applications submitted totaling nearly $500 million in capital improvements (Berkeley Strategic Transportation Plan)
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Community Design + Architecture
Customer profileNamed customers10 records
Segments1 record
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Community Design + Architecture technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
Community Design + Architecture partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- Fehr & PeersminorCD+A served as subconsultant to Fehr & Peers on the Alameda Countywide Multimodal Arterial Plan project. Fehr & Peers led the multidisciplinary team with CD+A responsible for GIS database development, multimodal street typology systems, and mapping analysis.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Community Design + Architecture competitors and assessment
Company assessmentPeers
Direct peers
- MIG: Planning, design, and communications firm with deep practice in complete streets, TOD, and public engagement for municipalities. Comparable to CD+A in service mix, client type (cities, transit agencies, counties), and California/Western US footprint.
- Opticos Design: Architecture and planning firm known for missing middle housing and form-based codes, with overlapping urban design and planning engagements for municipalities — comparable mission and client profile to CD+A.
- Raimi + Associates: California-based planning, urban design, and sustainability consultancy serving public agencies on general plans, climate plans, and TOD — overlapping scope and public-sector client profile with CD+A.
- Fehr & Peers: Transportation planning and engineering firm that partnered with CD+A on the Alameda Countywide Multimodal Arterial Plan. Directly comparable in complete streets, multimodal, and transit planning services for public-sector clients across the Western US.
- SWA Group: Landscape architecture and urban design firm working on waterfronts, parks, transit corridors, and complete streets for public clients — overlapping landscape architecture and urban design capabilities with CD+A.
- PlaceWorks: California-based planning, urban design, and landscape architecture firm serving public agencies on specific plans, precise plans, complete streets, and TOD — a close functional and geographic peer to CD+A.
- Dyett & Bhatia: Urban and regional planning firm focused on general plans, specific plans, and sustainability for municipalities. Similar size, California base, and public-sector orientation as CD+A.
- Nelson\Nygaard Consulting Associates: National transportation planning and engineering firm specializing in multimodal, transit-oriented, and complete streets planning for public agencies. Highly comparable to CD+A in customer base (transit agencies, cities), service mix (multimodal planning, BRT support), and project scale.
Market position
Strengths1 record
Weaknesses1 record
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Community Design + Architecture social profiles
Digital presenceCommunity Design + Architecture financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Community Design + Architecture leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Community Design + Architecture funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Community Design + Architecture 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 Community Design + Architecture
What does Community Design + Architecture do?
Community Design + Architecture is an Oakland, California-based urban design, planning, landscape architecture, and architecture firm serving public-sector clients. Founded in 1997 by Phil Erickson, the firm delivers specific plans, transportation/land use planning, complete streets design, and green infrastructure planning for cities, transit agencies, and counties. CD+A has also produced nationally recognized manuals including the Bus Parklet Design Manual, Oakland Great Streets Manual, and Green Streets Best Management Practices Handbook.
Is Community Design + Architecture a public or private company?
Community Design + Architecture is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Community Design + Architecture founded?
Community Design + Architecture was founded in 1997. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Community Design + Architecture based?
Community Design + Architecture is headquartered in Oakland, United States, in the North America region.
How does Community Design + Architecture make money?
One revenue line is on record: professional Planning and Design Services.
Who are Community Design + Architecture's main competitors?
WSP USA (Urban Planning & Design) is listed as a peer. Direct peers are MIG, Opticos Design, Raimi + Associates, Fehr & Peers, SWA Group, PlaceWorks, Dyett & Bhatia and Nelson\Nygaard Consulting Associates.
Does Community Design + Architecture have an API?
No public API is recorded for Community Design + Architecture.
What industry is Community Design + Architecture in?
Community Design + Architecture's product category is Urban Planning and Design 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.