CNU 31.Charlotte | Sponsors

City of Charlotte

The Queen City of Charlotte, North Carolina is excited to host CNU 31.

DPZ CoDesign

Adaptive urban planning for the challenges of today's built environment.

Charlotte Urban Design Center

The Charlotte Urban Design Center's mission is to advance the quality of Charlotte's built environment and bring public awareness to the importance of urban design. The center reveals how design influences quality of life and economic resilience, and advocates for great public places in a livable city.

Knight Foundation

The Knight Foundation are social investors who support a more effective democracy by funding free expression and journalism, arts and culture in community, research in areas of media and democracy, and in the success of American cities and towns where the Knight brothers once published newspapers.

Neighborhood Evolution

Readying, steadying and nurturing places to take their future into their own hands.

Progressive AE

Progressive AE’s workforce is a unique blend of creative people who think strategically, and strategic people who work creatively. The firm is guided by a fundamental and forward-thinking philosophy, Performance Based Design, which is a commitment to driving organizational performance for clients. Progressive AE has provided innovative and sustainable architectural, engineering, and design consulting services for 60 years. The firm is a privately held, employee-owned company with offices in Grand Rapids, Michigan and Charlotte, North Carolina.

Torti Gallas + Partners

Torti Gallas + Partners, established in 1953, is one of the largest planning and architectural firms dedicated to advancing the principles of the walkable urbanism to meet the challenges of our time. TG+P has extensive experience with all scales of master planning and building projects in the residential, mixed-use downtown, transit-oriented, and commercial markets.

University of Miami, School of Architecture, Master of Real Estate Development

The mission of the School of Architecture is to prepare students for professional leadership and lifelong learning in architecture, urbanism, and related fields.

Union Studio Architecture & Community Design

Union Studio Architecture & Community Design is an award-winning, nationally practicing architecture and community design firm driven by its mission to use the power of design to enrich lives and strengthen communities. With offices in Providence and Philadelphia, Union is committed to designing sustainable places that will be loved for generations. The firm's work includes urban planning and community design, civic and institutional buildings, mixed-use developments, and housing of all types. Union's expertise lies in understanding the overlapping and interwoven needs of community and client to shepherd the creation of new places that are financially and socially successful as well as beneficial to the community and the environment.

Urban3

Urban3 can help you visualize where your community is leaking money, and what areas produce more revenue than they use in services. When you clearly see your community's financial health on a map, residents and staff will be able to make data-driven decisions together. Our experienced team has examples and best practices to share from communities of all scales.

Fabric[K] Design

We design human-scaled architectural and urban solutions that are place-sensitive, finely-detailed, and cost-effective. But most importantly we design buildings and places for people first creating value for both client and community. Our mandate is simple: To hold neighborhood Fabric[K] together & help people build better lifestyles through contextual, sustainable and people-centric design.

Lowe's

The people we serve are at the heart of everything we do. Our associates have deep home improvement experience and training, and can give you the expert advice you need to do your project right. From urgent repairs to your dream remodel, we designed our business to be there when you need us most.

Perkins&Will

Design has the power to inspire joy, uplift lives, and strengthen the spirit of community. Our goal is to design places that make a positive difference in the world. That’s why people are at the heart of everything we do. There’s so much more to architecture than what meets the eye. Every place has a story, and as we design, we help tell it. Our work enlivens neighborhoods, builds communities, energizes the citizenry, and respects and protects our planet.

Shook Kelley

At Shook Kelley we create, develop and manage brands with The Power To Convene people in meaningful ways. Our comprehensive approach includes first uncovering the essence of a brand and then creating a tangible vision for how that brand might be manifested in place, space and experience. This process takes us beyond the laws of aesthetics and delves deep into the art and science of shaping perceptions, behaviors, emotions, attitudes and expectations. Because of the flexibility of our process, Shook Kelley can provide solutions for a wide variety of brands, industries, organizations, formats, places, experiences and project types.

Street Plans

We thrive on working with our clients, partners, and other like-minded organizations to improve the quality and function of the built environment. We seek to improve multi-modal transportation options and create successful public spaces as a means of creating more competitive and resilient 21st-century communities. We fulfill this mission by working at the intersection of transportation, land use, and urban design in cities and towns across the United States and abroad. Street Plans is currently working on such projects in Jersey City, New Haven, New York City, Miami, Atlanta, Memphis, Culver City, and Louisville.

Torti Gallas + Partners

Torti Gallas + Partners, established in 1953, is one of the largest planning and architectural firms dedicated to advancing the principles of the walkable urbanism to meet the challenges of our time. TG+P has extensive experience with all scales of master planning and building projects in the residential, mixed-use downtown, transit-oriented, and commercial markets.

AARP Livable Communities

AARP is the nation’s largest nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to empowering people 50 or older to choose how they live as they age. With nearly 38 million members, AARP strengthens communities and advocates for what matters most to families. The AARP Livable Communities initiative’s programs include the AARP Network of Age-Friendly States and Communities and the annual AARP Community Challenge “quick-action” grant program.

HDR, Inc.

HDR specializes in engineering, architecture, environmental and construction services. While we are most well-known for adding beauty and structure to communities through high-performance buildings and smart infrastructure, we provide much more than that. We create an unshakable foundation for progress because our multidisciplinary teams also include scientists, economists, builders, analysts and artists.

Opticos Design

At Opticos Design, we believe in the transformative power of beautiful, sustainable, walkable communities for all. Opticos is a team of urban designers, architects, and strategists who find solutions to challenging housing and community issues. We create mission-driven designs: a founding B Corporation, we pledge to run our firm with a focus on social, environmental and economic responsibility.

University City Partners

University City Partners (UCP) is a nonprofit organization that invests resources to shape public spaces and plans for a better-built environment that influences the way we live, work, play and learn in University City. University City Partners invites others to invest in the community by way of a headquarters, small to mid-size business, real estate, or home. Building University City is not only about developing the landscape. It is about building relationships and a stronger forward moving community.

Zimmerman/Volk Associates, Inc.

ZVA is recognized by the leading practitioners of New Urbanism as the national expert on the residential market feasibility and positioning of urban development and redevelopment and new traditional neighborhoods.

Arcadis

Arcadis is the world’s leading company delivering sustainable design, engineering, digital and consultancy solutions for natural and built assets. We are more than 36,000 architects, data analysts, designers, engineers, project planners, water management and sustainability experts, all driven by our passion for improving quality of life.

Bolton & Menk

At Bolton & Menk, we believe all people should live in safe, sustainable, and beautiful communities. We take pride in our ability to provide technical planning, urban design, and engineering solutions to make that happen.

Camp North End

ATCO Properties & Management seeks to improve people’s lives by creating places where they genuinely want to work, play, or live, and by doing so with a long-term perspective. Camp North End in Charlotte is a shining example of this approach as one of the largest adaptive reuse projects in the US. With 300,000 sf already redeveloped for work, artistic expression, dining, entertainment, recreation, and community building, and another 1.5 million sf on the way, Camp is transforming a historic 76-acre site into a catalytic creative hub.

Charlotte Center City Partners

We believe a thriving Center City is the foundation for a strong region. Filled with dreams and bursting with opportunity, our vibrant downtown is the economic, social, and cultural heart of the region. With more than $4 billion in new development in the pipeline and a strong history of public-private partnership, Charlotte Center City is where our community comes together to boldly envision what's next.

Cornish Associates

Headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island, Cornish Associates is an innovative real estate development company committed to the principles of New Urbanism and to the over-arching mission of creating diverse, walkable and sustainable places.

Crabtree Group, Inc.

We are a Colorado based multi- disciplinary New Urbanist Civil Engineering firm ranging in scope from small infill + redevelop projects to town + city plans. Our client diversity includes Towns, Cities, Counties, Special Utility Districts + private investment developers.

Guernsey

Serving communities since 1928 from the heart of Oklahoma, Guernsey’s mission is to provide innovative and design-centric solutions for our clients across the U.S. and abroad. From small and mid-sized communities to large federal organizations, we collaborate closely with our clients, meet them where they are, and help advance their vision through thoughtful public engagement, placemaking, and resilient practices.

Historical Concepts

Historical Concepts is an architectural partnership established in 1982, providing award winning traditional architecture and planning to residential, developer, and civic clients.

LandDesign

We’re a collection of visionaries and problem solvers who believe in the power of balance, combining creativity and practicality to design what we know will thrive.

Lew Oliver Inc.

The essence of our design work is to embody harmonious proportion that resonates with the human emotion, elevating living in communities that are sought after. Our pursuit is to advance the classical language with environments that become more beautiful with age and authenticity.

McAdams

Founded in 1979, McAdams is a full-service civil engineering, land planning, landscape architecture, transportation and geomatics firm headquartered in Raleigh, with offices in Durham and Charlotte, North Carolina and Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas. McAdams delivers unmatched expertise in a variety of markets, including municipal, education, healthcare, energy, commercial and residential developments.

Moule & Polyzoides, Architects and Urbanists

Moule & Polyzoides, Architects and Urbanists, was founded in 1982 in Los Angeles, California. The firm was established to address the most critical challenge of our time: creating beautiful and enduring buildings, neighborhoods and districts, and through them, reinvigorating civic life by restoring the urban cores of our towns and cities and providing an alternative to suburban sprawl.

People Places LLC

People Places is a New Urbanist Real Estate development company founded by Frank Starkey in 2013 to create vibrant, people-oriented residential and retail places in walkable settings. We believe that a society of connected people is better than a society of separated individuals and actively seek projects that encourage cultural diversity, inclusion, and equity.

Thadani Architects + Urbanists

Dhiru A. Thadani is an architect and urbanist who has been in practice since 1978. As a design principle and partner for more than thirty years, he has completed projects the world over, and he continues to provide a broad range of consulting services in architecture and urban design.

Seaside Institute

We believe in promoting the building of sustainable places through education and design. Seaside started in 1980 with an idea for a compact, walkable community and inspired new thinking about planning and design now known as New Urbanism. The Seaside Institute offers strategically designed educational programs and symposia that bring together residents, visitors, architects and scholars to share ideas for building and supporting livable communities. The Institute’s three core tenets—Sustainability, Connectivity, Adaptability—working together to expand the lessons of New Urbanism and develop new strategies for a rapidly changing world.

University of North Carolina at Charlotte

As North Carolina’s urban research university, UNC Charlotte is a diverse and inclusive institution with local-to-global impact that transforms lives, communities and industries through access and affordability, exemplary undergraduate, graduate, and professional programs, scholarship, creative work, innovation and service.

University of Notre Dame, School of Architecture

Our pedagogy embraces the idea that architecture and urbanism do more than merely provide shelter; they shape the public and private realms in which we inhabit our planet and develop our communities, cultures, economies and futures.

Coeo Media

Coeo is a practice of communicators and strategists that have the skills and experience to connect your business, brand, or cause to the right audience in the right way. Coeo is press coverage that informs. It's storytelling that inspires. It's guidance that elevates. Coeo is media that connects.

Moore & Van Allen

We represent ideas, values and aspirations. We represent carefully laid plans and bold long-term goals. By immersing ourselves in a deep understanding of what is important and meaningful to our clients we bring clear perspective to any legal challenge and find solutions in unexpected places.

National Town Builders Association

The National Town Builders’ Association exists to serve builders and developers throughout the nation in an effort to build the very best traditional neighborhoods and town centers. As a peer-to-peer organization, The NTBA provides an unequaled opportunity to share information and insight with the nation’s premier Town Builders.

Neighboring Concepts

Neighboring Concepts is a unique kind of architecture and urban design firm that uses design to solve local problems facing our communities. We believe in the potential of architecture and design to create better lives for people and for the communities where we live, work, and play.

PlaceMakers, LLC

WE'RE STRATEGISTS, PLANNERS, URBAN DESIGNERS, CODE WRANGLERS, AND PLAIN LANGUAGE EXPLAINERS. We're guides on the path to a future of your own making, where the things you care about -like inclusive social and economic opportunity, public health and wellness, robust community, and local climate action-are reflected in your growth and development planning and pursued through collaboration, foresight, and purpose.

Sustain Charlotte

Sustain Charlotte is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization helping to advance local sustainability through smart growth. Our dedicated staff and volunteers work collaboratively with residents, neighborhood organizations, government agencies, nonprofits, and businesses to solve the most important challenges to the long-term social, economic, and environmental health of our community.

Urban Design Partners

Urban Design Partners (UDP) is a collaborative group of experts in the fields of planning, landscape architecture, engineering, and urban design. We specialize in complex projects, ranging in scale from the site to the city, where innovative design solutions lead to places that connect people, nature, and economy. We are passionate about the cities and towns in which we live, work, and play, and believe in the power of design to build community.

YARD & Company

YARD & Company is an urban growth firm that uses place to solve problems through design, experience management and development.

Alexander Ricks

Alexander Ricks PLLC is a boutique law firm servicing clients nationwide. Our talented professionals provide sophisticated legal services for our business clients in a broad range of practice areas. We bring a unique perspective to each legal matter by combining the experience our attorneys gained at large global, national, and regional firms with the personal service that our clients appreciate.

Chattanooga Design Studio

Chattanooga Design Studio is an independent, non-profit community resource that promotes excellence in urban design through education, facilitation, and collaboration. Originally Chartered in 2015, the Studio is currently governed by a ten-member Board of Directors, and operated by with one part-staff and a full-time staff of three. The work of the Studio takes many forms: studies, charrettes and exhibitions for the general public; programs for the professional design community; facilitation for community stakeholders; consultation with the development community; and resources for local government.

Civility Localized

Civility Localized is a minority-owned and woman-owned community engagement consulting firm proudly headquartered in Charlotte, NC that works with governments to enhance their outreach capacity and increase awareness of special projects through equity-based strategies. Civility Localized is how urban communities grow and how community advocates are created, without leaving anyone behind.

DRG

We are experts in higher density housing forms and integrating the technical and aesthetic aspects of complex residential and mixed-use projects into the urban fabric. We also work with many different typologies on the land, including commercial developments, institutional, educational, green spaces and other forms of housing. As a fully integrated and diverse design team, we have a few things in common – we understand the value of seamless collaboration, and we share a strong desire to use our expertise and knowledge to design solutions that will help people become piece and part of vibrant livable and comfortable spaces where they can live, work and play to the fullest.

Flywheel Group

Our name, Flywheel Group, is derived from a flywheel's inertia - its rotation and energy is small at first, but as it continues to spin, momentum exponentially gains, increasing energy and releasing unlimited potential. This is the vision of the Flywheel Group. We connect ambitious design and development ideas and drive innovative thinking in the creation of communities that inspire and endure. Founded in 2013, Flywheel Group was established with a focus on urban, walkable, transit-oriented projects. Specifically, Flywheel Group launched with a focus on Charlotte's emerging North End and NoDa neighborhoods. With unprecedented growth in Charlotte, a $1.2B Light Rail extension, planned Cross Charlotte Trail/Greenway project and surging arts district —North End and NoDa are compelling locations for Flywheel Group to concentrate its focus.

Grubb Properties

With principles that have remained steadfast for 60 years, we’ve taken a different approach to private equity real estate investment opportunities, strategically focused on essential housing. Through the decades, our company has continually evolved to be ever-more impactful and higher performing.

Kittelson & Associates

Kittelson & Associates is a national team of transportation planners, engineers, and specialists on a mission to transform how communities move. We provide research, policy, planning, design, and operations services to government sectors and private organizations, partnering with clients who are as driven as we are to find solutions that improve people’s everyday lives.

Live/Work/Walk Foundation

Morris Berg Architects

Morris Berg Architects is a planning, architecture and interior design firm specializing in Higher Education, K-12 and municipal buildings throughout North Carolina. Our experience in the Urban context has continually prepared both us and our clients for forward thinking projects as we get ready to celebrate our 50th year in 2024!

Nequette

Since 1999, Nequette Architecture & Design has tackled community-focused projects including mixed-use town centers, multi-family housing, infill commercial spaces in urban settings, and market-rate residential neighborhoods—always with the goal to solve problems, create a sense of place, and foster relationships with clients, designers, and the people who build their lives in the spaces we create. As part of our commitment to community, the firm moved to Downtown Birmingham in 2016. The Thomas Building—a renovation and restoration of what once was the W.S. Brown Mercantile Building and the former Harold’s Furniture building on 2nd Avenue North—encapsulates our passion for mixed-use design, featuring two retail fronts, loft apartments and office spaces, and Nequette Architects’ new home on the top floor. This is what we are all about: building up the communities we live in and telling the unique story of a place through authentic craftsmanship. Today, we are an ever-growing team of designers and problem solvers bringing people together and nurturing communities with thoughtful planning and beautiful design.

Parametrix

As a 100-percent employee-owned firm with locations across the Western United States, Parametrix has a vested interest in strong performance and exceptional client service. Individually and as a team, we are committed to providing high-quality, cost-effective solutions in engineering, planning, and environmental sciences that enable our clients to make informed decisions on their most significant projects.

Robert Orr

VHB

VHB is a diverse team of engineers, scientists, planners, and designers that brings together our collective knowledge and technical excellence to improve mobility, enhance communities, and balance development and infrastructure needs with environmental stewardship. With a future-focused mindset, we are dedicated to delivering sustainable and equitable solutions for a more resilient tomorrow to benefit the places where we live, work, and play.

Town of Davidson

Located 20 miles north of Charlotte, Davidson is a small college town with engaged and active citizens. We believe in sustainable growth, environmental stewardship, substantial open space, racial and socioeconomic diversity, environmental stewardship, and promoting the health and wellness for all. We are a pedestrian and bicycle-friendly town with a vibrant historic business district. We welcome residents and visitors alike.

Montgomery Planning (M-NCPPC)

The Montgomery County Planning Department aims to improve quality of life for its residents by conserving and enhancing the natural and built environment for current and future generations. Montgomery Planning creates great communities by developing master plans, reviewing applications for development and analyzing various types of information to help public officials plan for Montgomery County’s future.

Active Towns

The Active Towns Channel profiles the people, places, and programs that promote a culture of activity for all ages and abilities.

Goldberry Books

We're a family-owned indie bookstore in historic downtown Concord, NC., selling both new and used books.

Southern Urbanism, Inc.

Southern Urbanism is 501(c)3 nonprofit committed to building better cities in the South.

Beauxwright

At Beauxwright, we thrive on solving complex real estate development challenges, and bring an entrepreneurial spirit to institutional investing.

Metropeligo

Metropeligo designs high performance environments that create identifiable and particular places that build upon the good and dear qualities of the place that garner the affection of the people who live there and do so in a sustainable, accessible way.

ULI Charlotte

ULI's mission is to shape the future of the built environment for transformative impact in communities worldwide. ULI Charlotte carries forth that mission by serving the Charlotte, Piedmont and Western North Carolina’s public and private sectors with pragmatic land use expertise and education.