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
Health, Equity, and Environmental Justice
Dyett & Bhatia brings rich experience in incorporating policy-based solutions for social equity, public health, and environmental justice issues into general plans. We prepared one of the first Public Health Elements for the City of San Pablo in 2011, winning a National Award from the American Planning Association. Our approach combines robust data analysis with focused outreach to the communities most impacted by equity and justice issues.
PUBLIC HEALTH ELEMENTS
Dyett & Bhatia prepared one of the first Public Health elements as part of a General Plan for the City of San Pablo, winner of a National Award from the American Planning Association. We have prepared more than a dozen Public Health elements since, with current generation of Public Health elements closely integrated with environmental justice and equity considerations.
CLIMATE CHANGE AND RESILIENCY
Today’s planning context demands effective strategies to minimize or eliminate community contributions to GHG emissions, and ensuring resiliency against sea-level rise, urban heat, and increased fire risks. Climate change is central to all of our planning work; D&B has also prepared nearly half dozen climate action plans (CAPs) for cities across California. D&B partnered with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to evaluate urban heat island effects and heat-related risks in Sacramento and designed interventions to mitigate heat where vulnerability is most concentrated and direct investments where they would be most effective.
EQUITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
Sacramento Environmental Justice
San Diego Environmental Justice
Carson Environmental Justice
Dyett & Bhatia is assisting some of the largest, most-diverse, and environmentally-burdened cities in California—San Diego, Oakland, Sacramento, and Carson—to meet new California laws that require local governments to identify EJ communities (also referred to as "disadvantaged communities") in their jurisdictions and address EJ in their general plans. EJ policies must address several objectives, including facilitating transparency and public engagement in local planning and decision-making processes; reducing harmful pollutants
and the associated health risks; and promoting equitable access to health-inducing benefits, such as health food options, housing, public facilities, and recreation.
We prepared the Environmental Justice Element of the recently adopted Moreno Valley 2040 General Plan and are currently leading preparation of Environmental Justice Elements for the cities of Sacramento, San Diego, San Pablo, Turlock, and Carson.
Our approach combines robust data analysis with focused outreach to the communities most impacted by equity and justice issues. We use a variety of data to characterize local issues related to air quality, urban heat, healthy food access, pollution exposure, civic engagement, and public health and we supplement this information with input on issues and priorities gathered directly from the most impacted residents through community listening sessions, Facebook live events, and pop-up outreach in disadvantaged neighborhoods. We also regularly collaborate with community-based organizations (CBOs) to ensure their local knowledge and expertise is integrated into the work. Through this process, we develop data-driven solutions thoroughly vetted by the communities most affected. See examples below.