Urban Design/Streetscape

A well-designed streetscape does more than improve appearances. It shapes how people experience a place. It determines whether they feel welcome, safe, and inclined to linger, and signals to a community that its public spaces are worth investing in. DLZ’s landscape architecture team brings that understanding to downtown corridors, urban plazas, shared-use trails, and gathering spaces, creating environments that balance function, safety, and a strong sense of identity.

Partnered with DLZ’s engineering team, we offer a single source for the design of roadways, utilities, and amenities — eliminating the coordination gaps that often arise when landscape and engineering are handled separately. We take time to understand the context, desired user experience, maintenance needs, and infrastructure requirements of each project, so the solutions we deliver are as practical as they are compelling.

Featured Capabilities

Design & Construction Documents

DLZ takes streetscape and urban plaza projects from initial concept through bid-ready construction documents. That full-scope capability includes site layout, grading and drainage, utilities, landscape planting, specialty hardscape, and structural detailing, all coordinated under one team.

Urban Trails

Connected greenways and shared-use paths do more than move people — they create destinations. DLZ designs urban trail corridors and city center public spaces that support safe pedestrian and bicycle movement while incorporating public art, pocket parks, plazas, seating, lighting, and interpretive elements that encourage gathering and community identity.

Streetscapes

Downtown streetscapes set the tone for business activity, walkability, and community character. DLZ develops coordinated streetscape improvements — street trees, specialty hardscapes, decorative pavements, wayfinding, outdoor dining areas, lighting, irrigation, and pedestrian amenities — that create attractive, functional, and memorable urban environments.

Plazas & Gathering Spaces

Great public spaces are flexible enough to serve everyday use and special events alike. DLZ designs plazas, event lawns, performance stages, vendor areas, and civic spaces that accommodate markets, festivals, concerts, and community gatherings, providing seating, shade, lighting, power access, and decorative paving that make them genuinely inviting.

Custom Hardscapes

Distinctive hardscape features give public spaces lasting character. DLZ designs decorative pavements, stone monuments, seatwalls, monolithic benches, gateways, custom paving patterns, and accent walls that reinforce identity, add durability, and create a strong sense of place.

Wayfinding

Helping people find their way is part of creating a welcoming environment. DLZ develops community branding and wayfinding systems — gateway signage, district markers, directional signage, interpretive elements, and coordinated sign families — that make downtowns, campuses, parks, and civic spaces easier to navigate and more memorable to experience.

Related Work

All Work

City Center Monon Greenway

Carmel

, Indiana

Founders Square Park

Portage

, Indiana

Related Capabilities

Transportation
Architecture
Site/Civil Engineering
Environmental

Sara

Huss, PLA, LEED AP, CPESC

Project Manager

Indiana

Jonathan

Mooney, PLA, LEED AP

Project Manager

Indiana

Jeff

Hirsch, PLA, LEED AP

Department Manager

Indiana

Get in touch with some of our urban design and streetscape experts.

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