Our Team & Approach

Jay Pitter Placemaking is a boutique urban design and engagement practice working across more than 25 cities in Canada, the United States, and beyond. Led by award-winning placemaker and author Jay Pitter, our small core team brings together a multidisciplinary group of researchers, a story editor, a senior urban and park planner, a land use and development consultant, and a graphic designer, alongside Jay’s own expertise at the intersection of design, policy, and storytelling. Our team also regularly collaborates with Indigenous consultants and knowledge holders, whose perspectives are integral to shaping culturally grounded and just public spaces.

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We are deeply committed to bridging lived experience with scholarly and sectoral expertise. Our practice is guided by an academic advisor—Jay’s longtime mentor and former graduate school advisor—who ensures intellectual rigour and contributes to the ongoing evolution of our frameworks. We are also advised by respected elders, whose wisdom grounds our work in intergenerational memory and cultural continuity, as well as emerging urban and cultural planners, whose fresh insights help us anticipate and shape the future of the field.

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We believe that meaningful city-building cannot be done to communities—it must be done with them. That is why, for every project, the community itself becomes part of our engagement team. We include resources for this in every budget and follow a structured process to identify, train, and support local collaborators. This ensures that the work reflects and respects the values, histories, and aspirations of the people and places we serve.

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While our core practice is intentionally small and collaborative, we also partner with larger firms—including Perkins & Will, LGA Architects, and others—to deliver projects that bridge cultural insight with large-scale design and development capacity. In addition, we collaborate with media outlets to amplify the work of our clients and the communities we serve, extending the reach and impact of our projects beyond traditional planning and design.

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This flexible model allows us to work deeply, build trust, and create lasting impact—from public space strategies and cultural district plans to storytelling initiatives, joyful urban activations, and place-based development projects.