Creative, inquisitive, engaged.
Our work spans the fields of urban design, urban planning, and communications, and includes:
Conceptual design of public spaces, parks, and streets
Strategic planning for public and private clients, relating to growth and change, mobility, equity, and sustainability in the urban context
We approach urban design and urban planning from a equitable, social science perspective with an emphasis on the design process and community collaboration. This is the foundation for our final products, plans, drawings, and designs. We focus on incorporating innovative, pop-up, and interactive community conversations into our projects. Many of our engagements are focused around an arts-based approach, weaving collective art making into the urban design process.
Co-Directors
HERE was founded in 2015 in Los Angeles by Amber Hawkes and Shannon Davis, designers who have overseen a number of private, public, and non-profit sector urban design and planning projects throughout Los Angeles and around the nation. Amber and Shannon speak at conferences, forums, and universities about positive urbanism, visual communication, equity, and good design, and both have been instructors at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs in the Graduate School of Urban Planning.
Shannon Davis, Partner
Shannon heads the firm’s first/last mile and streetscape design and is HERE's Civic Technology Lead. She guides the firm in incorporating technology at all stages of a project - during community dialogue, design iteration, and final product design.
Amber Hawkes, Partner
Amber guides the firm's conceptual open space design and 'big picture' strategic planning. She works to simplify and clarify complex ideas into digestible pieces.
