CSPM Group
CSPM Group is a privately-held urban planning consultancy that provides crowdsourced placemaking services to municipalities and real estate developers, using a hosted community-engagement platform and a five-phase methodology to build grassroots support for downtown revitalization projects across the US Northeast.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2010
- HeadquartersNew York, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What CSPM Group does
CSPM Group is a privately-held urban planning consultancy that provides crowdsourced placemaking services to municipalities and private real estate developers. Founded in 2010 (previously operating as Cooltown Beta Communities) by Neil Takemoto, the firm operates with a small core team of approximately 5 employees and field-based community liaisons, supported by offices in New York and Washington DC. CSPM's core offering is the CSPM System, a methodology plus hosted web platform that engages local residents in urban revitalization through idea submission, voting, campaigns, and tactical urbanism demonstrations, with each project typically launching its own branded community site (e.g., Bristol Rising, NR Future, Source the Station, Renew Hempstead, Riverside Rediscovered, beHBG).
The underlying technology combines a hosted community-engagement platform with a five-phase structured methodology requiring a minimum six-month community-building cycle. The platform incorporates a triple-bottom-line evaluation framework (economic, social, environmental), a points-based community recognition system, and tools for campaign management. The system is designed to aggregate "long-tail" community members into an identifiable market community that provides political legitimacy and market validation for development projects. Notable outcomes include accelerating municipal approvals by 6-8 months in Bristol CT and completing a concept master plan in 9 months versus a typical 2-3 years.
CSPM's business model is professional services plus managed platform hosting. Revenue is generated through direct consulting agreements with municipalities (via RFP processes) and master developers (notably Renaissance Downtowns and the RDRXR joint venture), rather than through standardized SaaS pricing. The company has operated projects across Connecticut, New York, New Hampshire, and Pennsylvania, with cumulative associated development value exceeding $7.5 billion and engagement of over 10,000 residents. The firm maintains Cooltown Studios as a content platform reaching 40,000 unique monthly visitors to support thought leadership and lead generation.
CSPM Group firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- CSPM Group
- Legal name
- CSPM Group
- Website
- https://cspmgroup.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2010
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- CSPM Group is a privately-held urban planning consultancy that provides crowdsourced placemaking services to municipalities and real estate developers, using a hosted community-engagement platform and a five-phase methodology to build grassroots support for downtown revitalization projects across the US Northeast.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
CSPM Group industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Urban Planning & Community Engagement Consulting
- NAICS
- Other Management Consulting Services (541618)
- SIC
- Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Social CRM & Community Engagement Platforms (HDAEAFAF)
Keywords
Where CSPM Group is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- New York
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
CSPM Group business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Crowdsourced Placemaking Consulting: CSPM Group provides consulting services to municipalities and private sector developers, training local staff and providing the CSPM System to manage crowdsourced placemaking programs. Revenue is generated through service agreements for program development, implementation, and ongoing support.
- CSPM Platform Hosting: The company hosts the crowdsourced placemaking website platform required for the CSPM System, providing the technical infrastructure for community engagement, idea submission, voting, and campaign management.
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels6 records
CSPM Group product offering
Product offeringCore offering
CSPM Group delivers crowdsourced placemaking consulting services to municipalities and private sector developers, combining a structured five-phase methodology (the CSPM System) with a hosted web platform that enables community idea submission, voting, campaign management, and triple-bottom-line evaluation. Each engagement typically runs a minimum of six months and pairs on-the-ground community liaison support with a branded community website to build grassroots support that accelerates municipal approvals and investment in urban redevelopment projects.
Product overview
CSPM Group offers a unified crowdsourced placemaking platform and methodology centered on the CSPM System, which combines the CSPM Platform (a hosted web application for community engagement) with consulting services. The system guides municipalities, private sector developers, and local communities through a five-phase process to co-create urban revitalization plans. CSPM Group manages several branded community initiatives including NR Future (New Rochelle), Source the Station (Huntington Station), Renew Hempstead, Riverside Rediscovered, Bristol Rising, and beHBG (Harrisburg), each using the CSPM Platform for idea submission, voting, campaigns, and community building. The company also maintains Cooltown Studios as an industry content platform and reference resource.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Bristol Rising: Crowdsourced placemaking initiative in Bristol, Connecticut for downtown revitalization
- Renew Hempstead
- Source the Station
- Riverside Rediscovered
- beHBG
- NR Future
- Visualize Nashua
Products and services
- CSPM System A comprehensive crowdsourced placemaking program combining a hosted web platform with consulting support and a structured five-phase methodology to engage communities in urban revitalization. The system guides municipalities, developers, and residents through a process lasting a minimum of six months and is offered to municipalities and private sector developers as a service engagement.
- Crowdsourced Placemaking Consulting Services Professional consulting services delivered to municipalities and private sector developers to plan, launch, and run crowdsourced placemaking programs. Services include community engagement strategy, training of local community liaisons, program implementation, and ongoing support for downtown revitalization projects.
- Cooltown Studios A crowdsourced placemaking blog and news site attracting 40,000 unique visitors monthly, featuring articles on placemaking trends, case studies, and community development practices.
Quantifiable outcome
- Municipal approval processes accelerated 6-8 months ahead of schedule in Bristol CT
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use CSPM Group
Customer profileNamed customers8 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
CSPM Group technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
CSPM Group partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- RDRXR (Joint Venture: Renaissance Downtowns and RXR Realty)coreJoint venture between Renaissance Downtowns and RXR Realty entered into Master Developer Agreement with City of New Rochelle for comprehensive downtown revitalization. CSPM Group provides crowdsourced placemaking to engage community stakeholders in the redevelopment planning process.
- Renaissance DowntownscorePrimary development partner engaged across multiple projects including Bristol CT, Huntington Station NY, Hempstead NY, and Riverside NY. Renaissance Downtowns is a triple-bottom-line real estate development firm that has utilized CSPM's crowdsourced placemaking system to generate community support and expedite municipal approvals for urban revitalization projects.
- Form Based Code InstituteminorCSPM Group identifies the Form Based Code Institute as a complementary organization offering online courses to teach developers and planning agencies about form-based code frameworks.
- LOCUS (Smart Growth America)minorCSPM Group identifies LOCUS as a partner organization with mission to encourage entrepreneurial developers to provide tech support to one another, aligning with the crowdsourced placemaking approach.
- FundriseminorReal estate crowdfunding platform identified by CSPM Group as lowering financial barriers to entry for community investment in development projects.
- Office for Planning and Architecture (OPA)coreLead consultant for Harrisburg comprehensive planning process. CSPM Group's crowdsourced placemaking system was implemented by OPA and directed by City of Harrisburg's Planning Bureau as part of the comprehensive planning engagement.
- K&W Engineers and ConsultantsminorPart of consultant team for Harrisburg comprehensive planning process alongside OPA, Good Land Collaborative, ARUP Americas, and AB3 Development Advisory.
- Good Land CollaborativeminorPart of consultant team for Harrisburg comprehensive planning process.
- ARUP AmericasminorPart of consultant team for Harrisburg comprehensive planning process.
- AB3 Development AdvisoryminorPart of consultant team for Harrisburg comprehensive planning process.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights4 records
CSPM Group competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- OpenGov: OpenGov provides cloud software for budgeting, procurement, and civic engagement in state and local governments. Its community engagement capabilities overlap with CSPM Group's hosted platform for municipal clients.
- Granicus: Granicus offers government experience technology including communications, records, and community engagement modules. As an established gov-tech vendor, it competes with CSPM Group for the same municipal engagement RFPs at greater scale.
- CivicPlus: CivicPlus provides a broad suite of civic engagement, content management, and government technology solutions to local governments. It is a much larger incumbent that overlaps with CSPM Group at the engagement platform layer.
Emerging players
- Forum One: Forum One is a digital agency specializing in online community building and engagement strategy for nonprofits, governments, and associations. It competes with CSPM Group in delivering methodology-driven community engagement consulting.
- Neighborland: Neighborland is a community engagement platform focused on urban planning and development projects, enabling residents to submit and vote on ideas. It directly overlaps with CSPM Group's idea submission and voting functionality on the CSPM Platform.
Direct peers
- MindMixer: MindMixer provides a community engagement platform for local governments to gather resident input on planning and development projects. It is the most direct software-only competitor to CSPM Group's hosted CSPM Platform in the civic engagement space.
- Polco: Polco combines civic engagement surveys, polling, and performance benchmarking for local governments. It overlaps with CSPM Group in serving municipalities seeking structured community input on planning decisions.
- PublicInput: PublicInput offers a civic engagement platform used by municipalities and transit agencies to collect community feedback. It competes for the same municipal RFPs that CSPM Group targets with its crowdsourced placemaking methodology.
- Zencity: Zencity uses AI-driven analytics on community feedback to help local governments prioritize resident concerns. It is a newer entrant competing for the same municipal engagement budgets that fund CSPM Group's engagements.
- Bang the Table (EngagementHQ): Bang the Table's EngagementHQ platform enables governments and developers to run online community engagement for planning and infrastructure projects. It is a direct platform competitor to CSPM Group's hosted engagement offering.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
CSPM Group social profiles
Digital presenceCSPM Group financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
CSPM Group leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles6 records
CSPM Group funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
CSPM Group 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 CSPM Group
What does CSPM Group do?
CSPM Group delivers crowdsourced placemaking consulting services to municipalities and private sector developers, combining a structured five-phase methodology (the CSPM System) with a hosted web platform that enables community idea submission, voting, campaign management, and triple-bottom-line evaluation. Each engagement typically runs a minimum of six months and pairs on-the-ground community liaison support with a branded community website to build grassroots support that accelerates municipal approvals and investment in urban redevelopment projects.
Is CSPM Group a public or private company?
CSPM Group is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was CSPM Group founded?
CSPM Group was founded in 2010. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is CSPM Group based?
CSPM Group is headquartered in New York, United States, in the North America region.
How does CSPM Group make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Crowdsourced Placemaking Consulting is the primary driver. The others are CSPM Platform Hosting.
Who are CSPM Group's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are OpenGov, Granicus and CivicPlus. Emerging players are Forum One and Neighborland. Direct peers are MindMixer, Polco, PublicInput, Zencity and Bang the Table (EngagementHQ).
Does CSPM Group have an API?
No public API is recorded for CSPM Group.
What industry is CSPM Group in?
CSPM Group's product category is Urban Planning & Community Engagement Consulting. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDAEAFAF, Social CRM & Community Engagement Platforms. Its NAICS code is 541618 and its SIC code is 8742.