OUR PHILOSOPHY
Urban planning and allied disciplines of urban design, zoning, and environmental planning are our focus. Through our work we seek to give form to community aspirations, and foster places that are vital, livable, and reflect environmental stewardship. Our work is place-based – responsive to context, physical and natural settings, economic realities, and community needs. It is directed toward improving the quality of the living environment and promoting sustainable development patterns.
Dyett & Bhatia (D&B) was incorporated in California in December 1975 and has been providing professional services for the last 40 years. D&B's sole office is located in Oakland, CA. Our small size – about 25 employees – allows us to be nimble and responsive in our work, communication, and outreach. We conduct analysis and develop policies on a range of planning topics from land use and urban design, to economic development, sustainability, and social and environmental justice. The professional services we offer are focused on: urban design and specific plans, development codes and zoning ordinances, general plans, environmental planning and assessment, community engagement, geographic information systems (GIS), three-dimensional computer modeling, and visual simulation.
Our firm has won 12 awards in the last four years alone from the American Planning Association (APA), as well as two national awards from the APA in the last six years, including for California's first Public Health Element.
We believe that plan-making is a collaborative effort, involving a diversity of stakeholders, and we are committed to active community engagement, and considerations of social and environmental equity in planning processes. Our work continues to evolve in response to changing concerns of urbanism; however, our underlying commitment to creativity, excellence, and shaping livable and sustainable places remains unwavering.
Dyett & Bhatia (D&B) was incorporated in California in December 1975 and has been providing professional services for the last 40 years. D&B's sole office is located in Oakland, CA. Our small size – about 25 employees – allows us to be nimble and responsive in our work, communication, and outreach. We conduct analysis and develop policies on a range of planning topics from land use and urban design, to economic development, sustainability, and social and environmental justice. The professional services we offer are focused on: urban design and specific plans, development codes and zoning ordinances, general plans, environmental planning and assessment, community engagement, geographic information systems (GIS), three-dimensional computer modeling, and visual simulation.
Our firm has won 12 awards in the last four years alone from the American Planning Association (APA), as well as two national awards from the APA in the last six years, including for California's first Public Health Element.
We believe that plan-making is a collaborative effort, involving a diversity of stakeholders, and we are committed to active community engagement, and considerations of social and environmental equity in planning processes. Our work continues to evolve in response to changing concerns of urbanism; however, our underlying commitment to creativity, excellence, and shaping livable and sustainable places remains unwavering.
Dyett & Bhatia has a highly-trained staff of approximately 25, with academic backgrounds and professional experience in urban and regional planning; urban design; zoning; urban environmental planning; urban economics, architecture; graphic design; and public meeting facilitation. Dyett & Bhatia’s technical staff specializes in Geographic Information Systems (GIS), cartography, three-dimensional computer modeling, and computer-aided visualization.
Each Dyett & Bhatia Partner is an experienced practice leader and firm owner, with full decision-making authority, committed to excellence and nurturing enduring relationships.
LEADERSHIP
We are connected by a shared passion for planning and places, and a fundamental desire to enhance the quality of life of the communities we serve Our work methods are rooted in collaboration and inquisitiveness, and our work culture is engaging and inclusive.
LEADERSHIP
LEADERSHIP
Dyett & Bhatia is a leader in urban planning, renowned for its pioneering, creative, and award-winning projects.
Through our work we seek to give form to community aspirations, foster vital and livable places, and promote environmental sustainability and equity. Our work is place-based, tailored to each community’s specific needs. We believe plan making is a collaborative effort that engages and connects people and communities.
Our areas of practice are general plans; specific and area plans, including station area plans, downtown plans, and corridor and neighborhood plans; zoning; environmental review; and community engagement. Our work is place-based, responsive to context, physical and natural settings, and community needs. It is directed toward improving the quality of the living environment and promoting sustainable, equitable, and just development patterns. Our geographic focus is the western US; we have done projects across the US and overseas.
We are connected by a shared passion for planning and places, and a fundamental desire to enhance the quality of life of the communities we serve Our work methods are rooted in collaboration and inquisitiveness, and our work culture is engaging and inclusive.
Contact Us
We give form to community aspirations, and shape vibrant, sustainable, and equitable cities.
December 2022
In what the press described as “… one of the most ambitious and large-scale redevelopments in Sonoma County history”, the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors in a marathon nine-hour meeting, adopted a Specific Plan for the shuttered 150-building, 900-acre site – California’s first campus for the developmentally disabled, and until recently Sonoma Valley’s largest employer. The plan will help transform the site, located in one of the most picturesque settings in the Bay Area, into a vibrant, walkable, mixed-use community of several thousand residents, jumpstart economic rejuvenation with nearly 1,000 jobs, and serve as a model of sustainable development. The State of California for the first-time ever partnered with a local community to drive the vision of a State-owned property, through a special legislation passed by the State. Dyett & Bhatia led the Plan and the EIR in an engaging process that routinely saw meeting attendance in the hundreds.
Learn more about the plan here https://www.sdcspecificplan.com
October 2022
We made it through 4.5 years of pandemic, wildfires, and other challenges with a glorious, community-driven General Plan for this iconic Bay Area community -- the first comprehensive plan update in almost 25 years. All growth for the next 20 years will be contained within the current Rural Urban Limit, with revitalized corridors, strengthened downtown, Napa River open space enhancements, and a focus on sustainability!
See the full plan at https://napa2040.com
A new benchmark for environmental justice and equity analysis for long-range planning! As part of the City of Oakland's comprehensive 2045 General Plan update, D&B has prepared an Environmental Justice and Racial Equity Baseline report that identifies and delineates disparities by race and by geography which may be present in the social, economic, and environmental factors that can be influenced directly or indirectly by the General Plan. The findings of this document will serve as the baseline for the Environmental Justice Element of the General Plan, and will enable the City to coordinate interdepartmental efforts to effectively address environmental justice and racial equity.
A new resource created for the city’s General Plan process is a treasure trove of information on Oakland’s neighborhoods and resources. – The Oaklandside
Centered along the San Diego River, Mission Valley is the city’s retail destination, and home to a large number of hotels and offices, as well as residential uses. Development is highly auto-centric and disconnected from the trolley system that extends along the valley. Dyett & Bhatia led the consulting team that prepared an updated Community Plan that was adopted by the City Council in September 2019. D&B also led EIR preparation.