Engagement is our philosophy, not a project phase
Our thoughtful and culturally relevant approach means stakeholder and community engagement doesn’t end when the project does.
See our engagement projects
Our thoughtful and culturally relevant approach means stakeholder and community engagement doesn’t end when the project does.
Place-based, people-focused
Every plan we create is as unique as the community we’re working in; our processes and plans reflect the people who live there.
See our planning projects
Every plan we create is as unique as the community we’re working in; our processes and plans reflect the people who live there.
We create blueprints where they don't exist
Our team of facilitators and strategists is motivated by solving problems that lack an obvious way forward.
See our design projects
Our team of facilitators and strategists is motivated by solving problems that lack an obvious way forward.
Thinking beyond the right-of-way
Our mobility plans take a whole-community perspective, considering economic development, community character, and neighborhood connections.
See our mobility projects
Our mobility plans take a whole-community perspective, considering economic development, community character, and neighborhood connections.
WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING ABOUT MUSE
You are the best public engagement consultant we have ever worked with.
Prime consultant
Too crunchy and fluffy
Proposal review committee member
Your office is where the people are, not where the offices are.
Friend in the field
MUSE really saved our bacon!
Prime consultant
You’re all wearing the same shoes?
People at engagement events
Can you run all of my meetings?
Project steering committee member
MUSE MILESTONES
2014
Setting out to create better processes, better plans, and a better place to work, Courtney Kashima establishes MUSE Community + Design.
2017
MUSE lands its first large contract with Chicago Department of Transportation, supporting the Vision Zero program.
2017
Courtney is invited to host the American Planning Association’s (APA) Podcast People Behind the Plans.
2018
Courtney hires MUSE’s first full-time employee.
2019
MUSE moves out of coffee shops and into a co-working space in Wicker Park.
2019
MUSE Managing Director Katrina Balog joins the team to oversee operations, marking the beginning of the firm’s rapid growth.
2019
Vision Zero West Side Action Plan is released. MUSE led the creation of Chicago’s first neighborhood-level Vision Zero plan.
2020
MUSE weathers an unforgettable year with a Porch Placemaking campaign, series of webinars, solidarity with our Black loved ones and colleagues, and some help from a PPP loan.
2021
MUSE is awarded a Prime Consultant contract to lead facilitation of Chicago’s first citywide planning effort in more than 50 years, We Will Chicago.
2021
MUSE wins its first contract from the Chicago Park District, leading a team of seven consulting firms to develop the Washington Park Framework Plan.
2022
West Chicago Forward/Adelante, MUSE’s first comprehensive plan, earns the top state planning award at the APA-IL conference.
2023
MUSE expands into its own office space, taking the second floor of a Bucktown retail building that was once home to a legendary hostel.
2023
We Will Chicago Citywide Plan earns the top state planning award at APA-IL conference.
2024
MUSE turns 10 and is recognized by Crain’s Chicago Business as one of the 100 Best Places to Work in Chicago.
2024
Two MUSE-led plans earn awards at the APA-IL conference: One Howard Street Economic Recovery Plan takes Strategic Plan Award and Homewood TOD Plan takes Healthy and Active Community Award.
