Ombuds is a Consultancy + Research Lab
Ombuds ensures local voices are heard early and clearly — through deep research, creative engagement, and participatory planning. As urban planners, researchers, and advocates, we help shape your story and your projects to reflect shared values, so that your community is your coalition.
the bottom line?
We thrive in collaborative spaces — whether building on an existing idea or crafting something new. And if you’re reading this thinking, I’d love to work with them — well, ditto.
we do…..
Urban Planning
For clients looking to address complex urban challenges, we conduct in-depth research, generate data-driven insights, and design practical, impact-driven interventions.
Services include needs assessments, community engagement, placemaking strategies, policy analysis, and plan-making.
Community Engagement
We partner with organizations, institutions, and community groups to co-design and develop projects that respond to unique urban issues.
Whether ideating from scratch or building on existing concepts, we bring our expertise in creative problem-solving and strategic implementation.
Research
As a think-and-do-tank, we develop and prototype our own projects around topics that light us up. We employ a multi-disciplinary approach that challenges conventional approaches to pressing issues.
We invite partners, funders, and collaborators to help us bring these visionary ideas to life.
how we do it…..
Whether you need a few focused hours of support or a partner through a full project, we’re built to flex. We can be:
Your on-call experts
Your project partners
Your go to planning + engagement team
design as inquiry
We see design not just as a means of making, but as a method of asking better questions — about how we live, who we include, and what futures we choose to shape. Our research lab investigates the role of design in addressing complex social challenges, grounding our work in lived experience, critical reflection, and interdisciplinary collaboration. We organize our inquiry around three themes — culture, democracy, and wellness — that help us explore the relationships between people, place, and power.
Designing for
Culture
We investigate how design can support cultural exchange, belonging, and integration in the context of migration and displacement. We are concerned with how cities can meet both the immediate and long-term needs of displaced communities by creating spaces and initiatives that foster empathy, mutual understanding, and social cohesion. We aim to bridge divides in ways that honor cultural identities while strengthening a collective sense of place.
Designing for
Democracy
We explore how design can strengthen democratic values by creating spaces that foster participation, transparency, and civic trust. Our research examines how the built environment shapes power dynamics, access, and engagement—especially for historically marginalized communities. We aim to challenge the passive norms of civic life by designing for dialogue, collective agency, and everyday expressions of democracy.
Designing for
Wellness
We advocate for public spaces and built environments that support both mental health and physical vitality. Our research is concerned with the psychological, physiological, and behavioral impacts of design—how environments can encourage movement, reduce stress, and foster a sense of safety and connection. Rest and reflection, movement and play, engagement with nature, and access to edible landscapes—we explore how design can promote holistic well-being.
