We are Resilient Communities.
Resilient Communities is a mission-driven firm that specializes in providing comprehensive planning, design, programming, and engagement services focused on urban regeneration, community health, and resilience.
Our
Values
Meet People Where They Are
This is not just a practice; it is our foundation. We believe the most durable solutions are not imposed from the outside but are co-created from the inside; reflecting the unique wisdom, culture, and aspirations of the communities we serve. We start with listening, and we build with trust.
Placemaking & Placekeeping
A place is more than its physical form; it is a vessel for memory, identity, and connection. Our practice holds the essential balance of placemaking - the collaborative creation of vibrant public life - and placekeeping - the active protection and celebration of the cultural fabric that makes a community unique. We don't just design spaces; we help communities nurture their places.
More Than the Sum of its Parts
Resilience is not built, it is woven. Our fundamental task is to identify and foster the connections - between people, places, and systems - that create a multiplier effect, where the combined impact far exceeds individual efforts. We are architects of connection, designing the relationships that allow disparate elements to become a thriving, integrated whole.
All Scales Matter
Resilience is not a single feature but an emergent property of a well-connected system. Our work simultaneously zooms in to the human scale of a home and a block, and zooms out to the broad scales of infrastructure, policy, and ecology. We design solutions that are not isolated, but are interdependent, creating a cascade of positive effects from the front porch to the watershed.
Critical Optimism
In a world of compounding crises, naive hope is a luxury we can't afford, and cynicism is a surrender we won't accept. We are committed to pairing a rigorous, evidence-based understanding of our challenges with a defiant belief in our collective ability to design a better way forward. We confront hard truths in order to build lasting hope.
Hope Is A Conscious Practice
Hope is not a passive feeling we wait for; it is a deliberate choice we make and a discipline we cultivate together. We commit to the practice of hope and bringing about future communities love. It is the active, conscious work of seeking possibility, celebrating small victories, and showing up for each other, especially when it’s hard. It is the fuel for the long, necessary work of building a better world.
OUR PEOPLE
Travis Scott Lee Shappell
Founder & Managing Principal
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