We Advise
Urban Planning That Gets Built.
Most planners write recommendations. Dr. Nash writes plans that become real projects, backed by an M.U.P. from USC and decades of development experience on both sides of the table.
Available as prime or subcontractor. Our specialty is housing studies and housing needs assessments, grounded in the practice of building housing.
Our Specialty
Housing Studies and Housing Needs Assessments
Why take housing theory from someone who has only studied it? Our housing studies connect theory to practice, because we have built the housing that studies like these call for.
Housing Needs Assessments
Housing supply and demand analysis that shows where the gaps are and what it takes to fill them
Affordability Analysis
Income-qualified demand analysis from a team that structures affordable housing deals
Workforce and Senior Housing Studies
Demand analysis informed by market data and development experience
Fair Housing and Consolidated Plan Support
Fair housing studies and HUD Consolidated Plan support for communities using CDBG and HOME funds
Plans That Become Projects
Comprehensive Planning
We write plans that cities actually use, because we understand what it takes to turn a land use map into a building permit.
Comprehensive Plans
Vision documents that guide real growth, because we have built what these plans propose
Small Area Plans
Targeted plans for neighborhoods ready for investment and reinvention
Subarea Planning
Corridor and downtown plans shaped by the economics of what can actually get financed
Land Use Analysis
We map existing conditions and model future use with the precision of practitioners who build on what we plan
Growth Management
Smart growth strategies that protect what residents love while enabling what communities need
Annexation Studies
Boundary expansion analysis grounded in fiscal reality and service capacity
Consolidated Planning
HUD required Consolidated Plans that unlock CDBG and HOME dollars
Housing Elements
Housing elements and fair housing analysis informed by the developments we build ourselves
We Revitalize What We Plan
Neighborhood Development
Our neighborhood plans do not sit on shelves. Promise Place and The Mabion are proof that our planning leads to shovels in the ground.
Neighborhood Revitalization
Strategies for distressed neighborhoods designed by someone who is actively investing in them
Blight Elimination
We address blight not just with policy but with projects, turning vacant lots into homes
Historic Preservation
Preservation planning that honors a neighborhood's past while creating its future
Main Street Programs
Main Street revitalization strategies that attract investment and foot traffic
Commercial Districts
Commercial corridor strategies shaped by the market realities we analyze every day
Transit Oriented Development
TOD planning from the firm that is actively building transit oriented housing in Kansas City
Walkability Studies
Walkability studies that translate directly into safer, more connected neighborhoods
Parks & Open Space
Green space strategies that enhance livability and anchor neighborhood identity
We Have Sat on the Approving Side
Zoning & Regulation
Dr. Nash chaired the committee that reviewed Kansas City's zoning decisions. We write codes that work because we have enforced them.
Plan Review for Municipalities
Plan review for cities and counties, from site plans and zoning to development and building plans, as an extension of your staff or as a third-party reviewer. Never on a project where we are the developer.
Zoning Code Updates
We modernize codes to remove the barriers we have personally encountered as developers.
Form Based Codes
Form based codes that create great places, written by someone who has actually built within them.
Unified Development Ordinances
One clear regulatory document that developers, staff, and residents can all understand and use.
Overlay Districts
Special purpose districts for transit corridors, historic areas, and opportunity zones.
PUD & Planned Development
PUD review and structuring from a team that navigates these approvals on our own projects.
Design Guidelines
Design standards that elevate quality without creating barriers that kill projects.
Numbers That Tell the Truth
Quantitative Analysis
Our analysis is not just rigorous, it is grounded in academic discipline and real world application.
Demographic Analysis
Population trends and demographic projections that reveal where demand is heading, and where to invest.
Housing Needs Assessment
Supply, demand, and affordability gap analysis from a firm that builds affordable housing.
Economic Analysis
Employment clusters and economic trends mapped to real development opportunities.
Highest & Best Use
Optimal use analysis for sites and parcels, informed by what we know the market will actually support.
Development Impact
Fiscal impact modeling that gives decision makers the clarity to say yes.
GIS Mapping & Analysis
GIS powered spatial analysis that makes complex data visible and actionable.
Where Others Study, We Built
Transit Strategy
We do not theorize about transit. We partner with KCATA and structure transit oriented development deals.
Transit Feasibility Studies
We determine whether your transit investment will work, ridership demand, cost recovery, route viability, before you commit a dollar.
Streetcar & Light Rail
From the KC Streetcar corridor to emerging light rail concepts, we bring planning grounded in the politics, funding, and community dynamics that determine success.
Bus Rapid Transit (BRT)
BRT done right transforms corridors. We plan dedicated lanes and enhanced service that cities can actually fund, build, and sustain.
Route Optimization
Better routes mean more riders and lower costs. We use ridership data and community input to redesign networks that serve the people who need them most.
Service Expansion
Growing communities need growing transit. We plan the extended hours, new routes, and frequency increases that keep neighborhoods connected.
Transit Oriented Development
We do not just plan around transit stops, we develop at them. Promise Place and The Mabion are proof that TOD can be affordable, beautiful, and real.
Funding That Gets to Yes
Infrastructure Advisory
Federal dollars are available, but only for those who know how to ask. We structure partnerships and funding strategies with every level of government.
Bipartisan Infrastructure Law
BIL created a major new wave of federal infrastructure investment. We help you identify the right programs, build competitive applications, and position your project to win.
ARPA Fund Navigation
ARPA funds are time sensitive and compliance heavy. We guide eligible uses, reporting requirements, and strategic deployment so nothing is left on the table.
Federal Grant Applications
RAISE, INFRA, SS4A, we prepare applications that score. Our track record reflects deep fluency in what federal reviewers look for.
Public Private Partnerships
The best P3s align public mission with private execution. We structure arrangements where both sides win, because we have sat on both sides.
Capital Improvement Planning
A strong CIP is the backbone of any growing city. We build long term capital plans that reflect real priorities, real funding, and real timelines.
We Have Been in the Room
Policy & Advocacy
Dr. Nash chaired the committee that reviewed Kansas City's largest developments. That experience, the negotiations, the votes, the political realities, is embedded in every engagement.
Transportation Policy Advisory
Policy is not abstract to us. We have drafted it, debated it, and voted on it. We advise at every level of government with the credibility of someone who has governed.
Legislative Advocacy
We prepare testimony, build coalitions, and navigate the legislative process, not as lobbyists, but as former legislators who understand the pressure points.
Intergovernmental Coordination
City, county, state, federal, infrastructure projects cross jurisdictions. We broker collaboration because we have relationships at every table.
Regulatory Navigation
NEPA reviews, environmental clearances, permitting timelines, we guide projects through the regulatory maze with the patience and precision it demands.
Transit Corridor Zoning
Zoning shapes what gets built around transit. We craft corridor strategies that enable density while honoring the character residents care about.
Elected Official Briefings
We prepare decision ready briefings that respect elected officials' time and give them the clarity they need to say yes.
Analysis Grounded in Experience
Land & Site Analysis
Our site analysis is shaped by experience: we have personally selected and assembled parcels for our own projects.
Highest & Best Use
Optimal use analysis from a team that has actually entitled and built the result.
Site Selection
Site selection informed by a developer who has personally chosen and assembled parcels for our own projects.
Zoning Analysis
Zoning research from a team that chaired the committee that reviewed Kansas City's zoning decisions.
Entitlement Strategy
Entitlement strategy from a team that has navigated these approvals for our own projects.
Environmental Review
Environmental coordination from a firm that has managed remediation on our own development sites.
Infrastructure Assessment
Infrastructure evaluation from a team that has faced site and access constraints on our own projects.
Adaptive Reuse
Adaptive reuse advisory.
Who We Serve
The Leaders Who Call Us
Cities & Towns
Planning departments ready to plan and build
Counties
County commissions investing in their future
MPOs
Regional bodies shaping what comes next
Developers
Developers who want planning that pencils
Nonprofits & CDCs
CDCs and nonprofits building community wealth
Faith Based
Congregations turning vision into development
Healthcare
Health systems planning campus and access
Universities
Universities planning growth with purpose
Prime Contractors
Planning and design firms that need a housing study partner on their team
Why It Matters Who Plans for You
Not Theorists. Builders.
USC Urban Planning
Master of Urban Planning from USC Sol Price School, one of the top programs in the nation. The academic foundation behind everything we build.
Former Planning & Zoning Chair
As Former Chairman of Planning, Zoning & Economic Development, Dr. Nash did not just review plans; as Planning, Zoning & Economic Development Chair he voted on them.
We Build What We Plan
254 homes across four MHDC-awarded developments. Our planning advice comes from our own closing table.
Data Analytics
Merging academic rigor with practitioner insight across every engagement.
MHDC Board
Former Vice Chairman, Missouri Housing Development Commission (2009 to 2017). Dr. Nash served on the Missouri Housing Development Commission, the state agency whose housing programs we now navigate.
Two Generations
A father daughter team combining decades of experience with next generation perspective and innovation.
Ready to Plan Something Real?
Whether it is a comprehensive plan, a zoning rewrite, or a neighborhood strategy, we plan what we are willing to build, and we build what we plan.
Hiring a prime consultant or building a team? We welcome both.
Reach Dr. Nash directly:
Why this is hard to copy
He has sat on the side of the table that decides
Planning advice is usually written by people who have petitioned a committee. This is written by someone who chaired one.
Dr. Nash chaired the Planning, Zoning, and Economic Development Committee of the Kansas City Council. He has heard the cases, asked the questions and voted.
That changes what advice is worth. Knowing the process tells you what to file. Having decided tells you what will actually carry a room.
Source: his own account on this site, and the clipping Nash Appointed Chair of Plans, Zoning in the press archive.
The evidence
What this is built on
Not a claim about capability. These are the accounts behind this service, each one carrying the coverage published at the time.
Our team consists of four USC-trained urban planners, plus professional degrees in architecture, law, economics, and nonprofit management.
2003
Chair of Planning, Zoning, and Economic Development
Chairing the committee that reviews what gets built.
Read the account →2001
Troost Revitalization
The street that divided the city.
Read the account →Consulting
Beacon Hill Redevelopment: Transforming a Neighborhood
Transforming a neighborhood, not replacing it.
Read the account →2025 to 2026
18th and Vine Streetcar Feasibility Study
Extending the streetcar to the Jazz District.
Read the account →We can’t predict the future. We can predict the room.
Public, private, nonprofit or philanthropic, we know the questions that room will ask and where a deal is likely to break. We spent our years doing the work, not writing about it, so our advice carries lived experience, practical knowledge and academic preparation.