We believe that the environment around us has a profound impact on our lives. We plan, design and sustain environments that support human development.
Our History
MIG was founded in play. Robin Moore, Daniel Iacofano and Susan Goltsman were working on masters degrees in Environmental Psychology when they realized they shared a passion about children and environments. They came to the San Francisco Bay Area and upended common thinking about design, play and children. It was the beginning of 30 years of pushing boundaries, breaking the mold and building the future.
In 1982 Project PLAE (Play and Learning in Adaptable Environments) disrupted accepted thinking, showing how an ecologically diverse schoolyard—combined with nature-based play programming—positively affects a child’s lifelong behavior. PLAE inclusively brought children with and without disabilities into the same environment. We now infuse play into all our projects—because we all need to play.
Realizing that the same inclusive guidelines hold true for all built environments, MIG focused on community visioning, strategic planning, landscape architecture and urban planning and design. Our projects always involve the community—we engage and inspire people by telling stories in person, in print and online, presenting complex information through layers of color, imagery and type.
Creating user-friendly, human-centered environments is part science and part art. Our practice areas broadened into collaborative teams that intensely analyze existing conditions and the functional dynamics of social spaces. Creative built-environment solutions result in a “sense of place” that fosters social equity and environmental sustainability.
We used to grow up, play and hang out on streets—until they were dominated by cars and trucks. Our re:Streets collaboration, begun in 2010, focuses on planning, designing and constructing streets for living (and driving). It explores how streets can dynamically change and become true public spaces, providing real social and economic value to all our communities.
Reducing traffic deaths, conserving water, energy efficiency and recycling—these are big social movements and a natural extension for MIG from planning sustainable built environments. We focus on how people think about their place in the world, using an arsenal of digital and grassroots tools to create new social norms for sustainability, environmental justice and environmental stewardship.
Recognizing that our clients need to implement the plans and designs we create, MIG has become a fully multidisciplinary firm, adding biologists, scientists, environmental compliance experts and civil engineers to round out our services and ensure that our completed projects remain true to the original community vision.
We Believe...
Communities can plan their own futures.
Inclusive and participatory planning always results in better policies, projects and programs.
The world needs an ecological perspective.
Beautiful and carefully designed environments require holistic, evidence-based research and analysis.
Great projects work for everyone.
Thriving and accessible communities improve everyone’s lives.
Elegant design inspires new thinking.
Design is not our end goal—our end goal is to connect people to each other.
Every project should advance racial and social equity.
Bringing diverse communities and perspectives together promotes shared prosperity and well-being.
All work must be context driven.
Great places reflect the community’s culture, history, geography—and its aspirations.
How we Work
We invite everyone to the table—and we place the table where people are so all voices can be heard. Then we listen, uncover, discover and find the connections that build community and move inclusive policies and projects forward.
We invite everyone to the table—and we place the table where people are so all voices can be heard. Then we listen, uncover, discover and find the connections that build community and move inclusive policies and projects forward.
We’re out in the field, testing prototypes at scale, ensuring viability and incorporating community reactions.
We look at projects from all angles, making plans tangible and analyzing all the alternatives.
We weave new social fabrics based on what we design, from policies and zoning codes to human spaces, social marketing and catalyst developments.
