Flexible Urbanism, Participatory Planning & Organizational Development

Berkeley & San Francisco, California

CSC has partnered with Envelope A+D since 2011 to support the evolution of its creative placemaking and participatory urban design portfolio.

Our collaboration began through the Architecture and the City Festival and the exhibition The Architecture of Consequence, which positioned design as a form of participatory research. This work elevated Envelope’s project PROXY SF — an early and influential model of “flexible urbanism” that reimagined underutilized urban space as a dynamic platform for cultural expression, small business incubation, and community dialogue.

PROXY demonstrated how temporary and adaptive interventions can catalyze long-term neighborhood vitality — integrating arts, micro-enterprise, and participatory planning in ways that reshape conventional development practice.

Building on this foundation, CSC has provided ongoing research, strategic planning, and organizational development support across Envelope’s expanding portfolio.

One such initiative, NOW Hunters Point, focused on the revitalization of a former industrial site in San Francisco’s Bayview–Hunters Point neighborhood. The project utilized live prototyping and oral history as tools for reciprocal community engagement. Through Listening NOW Hunters Point, residents’ narratives were gathered and elevated, ensuring that future design and development interventions were shaped by local knowledge and lived experience.

Across engagements, CSC has supported:

• Integration of arts and culture into urban development strategy
• Participatory design frameworks rooted in reciprocity and respect
• Organizational strengthening to sustain innovative practice
• Alignment between creative experimentation and long-term structural change

Inspired by these efforts, the collaboration also contributed to the creation of Here For Now, a nonprofit dedicated to temporary art and design interventions that promote cultural vibrancy and civic engagement. Kiley Arroyo serves on its Board of Directors.

This body of work reflects CSC’s commitment to integrating cultural practice, relational engagement, and structural design — demonstrating how temporary interventions can seed durable transformation within complex urban ecosystems.