Mission

Use Our Imagination

The UMass Amherst Design Center supports a wide range of planning and urban design projects and research focused on addressing the challenges facing cities and towns in Massachusetts and beyond.

Based in Springfield, the Design Center strives to achieve these important objectives:

1. Initiate projects that will support the revitalization of cities and towns in innovative ways that reflect best practices.

2. Strengthen the connection between the university and Massachusetts cities and towns.

3. Provide students with a range of learning opportunities, including community outreach, urban design and city planning.

The Design Center continues the University’s historical “land grant” mission to leverage academic teaching and research expertise in ways that benefit the Commonwealth’s communities. Through its work, the Design Center encourages collaboration among UMass faculty and students to engage with municipalities across Massachusetts to further the shared goal of revitalization and sustainable design.

The Design Center is a collaboration between the City of Springfield, the UMass Department of Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning, the Department of Architecture, the Department of Building Construction and Technology, and UMass Extension/Center for Agriculture.