Planners in Private Practice
Planners in Private Practice (PIPP) is a division of the Michigan Chapter, American Planning Association. PIPP is a collective of private planning consulting firms that provide fee-for-service or contract based services for planning, zoning, development and site plan review, economic and community development, placemaking and myriad other municipal functions.
Michigan has dozens of planning firms, large and small, to meet the unique planning and zoning needs in your community. A planning consultant might be hired to update your zoning ordinance, or to lead a master planning process. Smaller communities might retain planning consultants for day to day planning and zoning administration.
MAP has developed a resource to answer your questions about using private practice planners. Follow this link to learn more about private practice planning in Michigan, including these important topics:
- Why Use a Planning Consultant
- How to Select a Planning Consultant
- The Competitive Selection Process
- Interview and Selection
- Ten Reasons to Look to Michigan’s Private Practice Community Planning Consultants FIRST
RFP Writing Resources
In 2022, Michigan's Planners in Private Practice presented a 90 minute webinar: Writing a Better RFP.
Check out MAP's pointers for RFP writing here.
Tip: Providing a budget (or price range):
- Helps consultants tailor their services to your project
- Saves time and effort
- Makes the competitive process more fair and fosters trust
DIRECTORY OF MICHIGAN CONSULTING FIRMS
(Members Of Planners In Private Practice)
Aligned PlanningAligned Planning
| Beckett & Raeder, Inc.Beckett & Raeder, Inc. Beckett & Raeder, Inc. is a Michigan Corporation headquartered in Ann Arbor with additional offices in Petoskey, Traverse City, and Grand Rapids, Michigan.Major areas of practice include master planning, placemaking, downtown revitalization and redevelopment, community planning and urban design, economic development, and RRC technical assistance. | C2GC2G |
Carlisle | Wortman Associates, Inc.Carlisle | Wortman Associates, Inc. John L. Enos, AICP More than 75 Michigan communities have chosen Carlisle/Wortman Associates as their comprehensive planning firm with expertise in every area of planning, zoning, community development, recreation and building services. | Community Image BuildersCarmine P. Avantini, AICP | FishbeckKristen Nyht, AICP Fishbeck is an all-in-one company that offers a wide range of planning, architecture, and engineering services. Our practice areas in urban planning are focused on placemaking, community engagement, streetscapes, urban design, parking studies, and campus planning. We look forward to working with you. |
Giffels WebsterJill Bahm, AICP www.giffelswebster.com Giffels Webster is a multi-disciplinary firm specializing in community planning, GIS, civil engineering, landscape architecture, and surveying. Our experienced planning team offers a full range of planning consulting services, including zoning, long range planning, ongoing services, and development review. | HNTB Michigan, Inc.HNTB Michigan, Inc. For more than a century, HNTB has helped create infrastructure solutions that best meets the unique demands of its environment.HNTB Corporation leads the way in delivering infrastructure solutions to the state of Michigan in transportation, urban and regional planning, bridges and structures, transit/rail, intelligent transportation systems, construction services, and program management. | Horizon Community PlanningHorizon Community Planning Established in 2018, Horizon Community Planning works with citizens, officials, and stakeholders to develop community plans. We write local zoning and development regulations to achieve the vision of the plans. Horizon Community Planning is also in the business of solutions for local governments, as we offer regular and on-call development plan review, zoning administration, and code enforcement services. |
Mannik Smith GroupMannik Smith Group | McKennaMcKenna McKenna is a planning and building services firm headquartered in Northville, Michigan with branch offices in Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo. For more than 40 years, McKenna has been a trailblazer in innovative community planning practices. With an unwavering dedication to providing workable, solid planning, the team at McKenna provides solutions that begin with listening to its clients. McKenna also is recognized for its building services division, which began in 2009, and currently provides professional building services to nearly two dozen Michigan communities. | Midwestern ConsultingMidwestern Consulting Midwestern Consulting is an award-winning professional consulting firm providing land planning, civil engineering, land surveying, landscape architecture, and transportation engineering services since 1967. We assist our clients in navigating and developing zoning and permitting strategy while providing thoughtful design solutions. Markets served include municipal, institutional, wireless communications, land development, and land survey with expertise in feasibility and due diligence review; project and infrastructure design; and entitlement strategy and management. |
Mission North, LLCMission North, LLC | MKSK StudiosMKSK Studios MKSK is a collective of Planners, Urban Designers and Landscape Architects passionate about the interaction between people and place. Key Services include community planning, downtown design, streetscapes, multimodal transportation planning and design, parking studies, and public engagement. | OHM AdvisorsOHM Advisors We are the community advancement firm! Our diverse, mission-driven team works collaboratively across multiple disciplines, including architecture, engineering, planning, urban design and landscape architecture, surveying, and construction engineering, to create better places for people. We specialize in developing actionable transportation, parks and recreation, economic development, and neighborhood plans, as well as unique streetscape, parks, and public space designs for communities throughout Michigan. |
Progressive CompaniesProgressive Companies Progressive Companies' multidisciplinary team is focused on implementation, changing the status quo, and placemaking. We take on special projects in public policy, zoning reform, corridors, redevelopment, tailored engagement, mobility, street design, and development entitlements. We purposely bridge the public and private sectors to build thriving and equitable communities. | QuantiflyQuantifly We use aerial imagery to automate the observation, measurement, and analysis of change at city scale. We hold a US Patent on our first product that counts 100s of acres of parked cars automatically using drones/UAS or manned aircraft. In the near future we plan to license our technology for use by other firms. Please contact us to hear more about our process and technology. | Rowe Professional Services CompanyRowe Professional Services Company
ROWE Professional Services Company is a full-service professional consulting firm specializing in community planning, civil engineering, surveying, aerial photography/mapping, landscape architecture, and land development. We offer large-firm resources with the personal attention you require. |
SmithGroupSmithGroup SmithGroup is an award-winning, multinational, integrated design firm bringing bold ideas and driving change for over a century. No matter the scale of your planning or urban design project, we work with our clients to gain a deep understanding of their communities and their needs, specializing in equitable and resilient solutions for cities, neighborhoods, districts, mobility, street design, and urban redevelopment. | Spalding DeDeckerSpalding DeDecker An award-winning land surveying, civil engineering, and urban planning firm, Spalding DeDecker has offices in Detroit, Rochester Hills, Novi, Grand Rapids, and Lansing. Key planning services include master and strategic planning, stormwater management plans and studies, streetscape and multimodal transportation planning and design, site planning and development feasibility studies, grant writing, and municipal engineering. | Spicer GroupSpicer Group |
Strategic Land Use ConsultingStrategic Land Use Consulting Rob Larrea, AICP Principal PO Box 903 | Wade TrimWade Trim | Williams & Works, Inc.Williams & Works, Inc. |
PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATIONS
Most professional planners practicing in Michigan are certified and/or registered. The American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) is the national professional institute within the American Planning Association (APA). AICP's central mission is the professional development and certification of its members as a means to the ongoing improvement of the practice of planning. AICP membership includes about 10,000 of the 30,000 APA members.
We hope these recommendations help. Please contact any member of the Planners in Private Practice group for more information about selecting a planning consultant.
