Vision & Action Plans

Using our market-based approach, we are experts in leading the development of downtown, neighborhood, and corridor plans in cities and towns of all sizes. Selected project examples are featured below.

Aurora, Colorado

Aurora Colfax Community Vision & Action Plan: The East Colfax area in Aurora – containing Colorado’s most diverse Zip code – faces myriad challenges. P.U.M.A. was contracted by the City of Aurora to (1) create an action plan reflecting community priorities and (2) evaluate and help form one or more new non-City entities to help implement the plan. P.U.M.A. worked with local leaders to create a plan rooted in robust input, ultimately identifying a Downtown Development Authority (DDA) and Community Development Corporation (CDC) as the best entities to carry out the plan. A successful DDA election in November 2025 resulted in a first of its kind model for a DDA focused on community empowerment and anti-displacement.

Boulder, Colorado

Boulder Arts Blueprint (2024-2025): In collaboration with Public Sphere Projects, P.U.M.A. led the community outreach effort for Boulder’s Arts and Culture Blueprint, a 10-year strategy guiding public investment and policy decisions. The process engaged a broad cross-section of artists, cultural organizations, and residents through focus groups, pop-up events, and a survey with nearly 1,200 responses. The resulting recommendations focused on expanding affordable artist spaces, activating underutilized properties for creative uses, supporting temporary and experimental public art, and creating opportunities for youth and emerging artists.

Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Downtown Vision & Action Plan (2023): P.U.M.A. partnered with Studio Seed to prepare a plan for Downtown Cedar Rapids that builds on past planning efforts, responds to post-pandemic realities, and charts an action-oriented course for growth and development in downtown Cedar Rapids over the next five years. Engagement was essential to understand stakeholder and community priorities, and the plan’s outreach process gathered over 1,600 inputs through various formats.

Denver, Colorado

Near Northwest Area Plan (2024): Following the East and East Central Area Plans (2020), the City of Denver hired P.U.M.A. to lead a third neighborhood plan. The Near Northwest plan established a 20-year vision for four rapidly-changing neighborhoods, covering the topics of land use, transportation, employment, community health, and growth. As part of a robust community outreach process, P.U.M.A. contracted with community navigators to better reach Spanish-speaking, lower-income, and renter populations.

Greeley, Colorado

City of Greeley/Greeley DDA (2022): "Downtown 2032 - The Path Forward" is a 10-year update to the Greeley Downtown Plan, providing a long-term vision for downtown Greeley and helping to guide growth, investments, and improvements over the next decade. The plan includes a roadmap for city investment and improvement priorities and is anchored by a market assessment designed to help educate the general public about downtown’s importance to the regional economy. The plan provides a shared implementation agenda with the Greeley Downtown Development Authority (DDA), the City’s primary partner in the planning process. Inclusive community engagement was essential for creating a successful downtown plan update for the City of Greeley, and the planning process gathered input from over 1,250 downtown stakeholders and the broader Greeley community.

Flagstaff, Arizona

Downtown Vision & Action Plan (2021): P.U.M.A. was hired by the Flagstaff Downtown Business Alliance, in partnership with the City of Flagstaff and Coconino County, to create a new downtown plan to guide public and private investments over the next decade. Despite taking place during the Covid pandemic, approximately 2,000 community members were engaged in the formation of the plan. The process resulted in an action plan organized into three categories – economic vitality, experience and urban design, and mobility.

Springfield, Missouri

Commercial Street Plan (2021): P.U.M.A. completed a plan to guide the evolution of north Springfield’s historic dining and shopping corridor over the next decade. The planning process was completed in the fall of 2020 through early 2021, in the midst of Covid-19. Despite the challenges this presented, P.U.M.A. was able to garner strong participation from “C-Street” stakeholders and the community at-large. The plan identifies 40 tactical recommendations, including 10 transformative projects.

Englewood, Colorado

Englewood Downtown Matters Plan (2020): P.U.M.A. was part of a multi-disciplinary team to create the Englewood Downtown Matters Plan, which is intended to serve as the plan of development for a proposed downtown development authority (DDA). Throughout the planning process, P.U.M.A. worked to create a collective vision for downtown and key program and project priorities to guide investment for the next 5-10 years and beyond. The planning process took place during the COVID-19 pandemic, and also included an 18-month economic recovery action plan.

Denver, Colorado

East Central and East Neighborhood Area Plans (2020): P.U.M.A. was hired by the City and County of Denver to prepare neighborhood plans for 10 established neighborhoods. The P.U.M.A. team engaged thousands of residents and oversaw the preparation of a market and housing needs assessment. The resulting plans highlighted recommendations like prevention of housing and small business displacement, improving transit and pedestrian mobility, neighborhood design guidelines for adaptive reuse and more.

Long Beach, California

Bixby Knolls Business Improvement Association Strategic Plan (2019): P.U.M.A. created a strategic plan using community outreach, market data and best practice research. The plan includes enhancing the pedestrian environment, streamlining events and marketing, and forging new key partnerships. Recommendations included finding reliable streams of revenue, like a property-based business improvement district (PBID), and using an existing 501c3 affiliate for donations, business license-based fees and soliciting contributions from the City of Long Beach.

Lincoln, Nebraska

Downtown Lincoln Master Plan (2018): P.U.M.A. partnered with Civitas to prepare a master plan for downtown Lincoln, positioning it as the Center of Opportunity. The Plan identifies priorities for physical improvements, catalyst developments, and policies to guide downtown stakeholders for the next ten-year investment cycle. P.U.M.A. and the client team engaged stakeholders throughout downtown, adjacent neighborhoods and representatives of communities of color, reaching close to 4,000 people.

Longmont, Colorado

Downtown Longmont Master Plan of Development (2017): P.U.M.A. worked with the Longmont Downtown Development Authority to create an update to the 1995 master plan, one that also aligned with the Longmont Arts & Entertainment District’s 2011 plan. The result was a collective vision for downtown and detailed tactical plan for implementation with recommendations for priorities, key projects, sequencing, organizing and financing. The plan is expected to guide investment for a decade or beyond.

Reno, Nevada

Downtown Action Plan (2017): P.U.M.A. led a community process to create a plan focused on attracting new investment, building housing, and creating jobs. It also strengthened connectivity and accessibility for all modes of transportation, especially bicycles and pedestrians, and aimed to stimulate improvements for a more welcoming and safe downtown. At the plan’s adoption, the City of Reno provided an additional services contract with P.U.M.A. to form a downtown business improvement district.