join our team
Debate Quickly Turned into ActivismReacting to poorly laid plans for the Franklin Street Corridor (now Korean Veterans Blvd), a group of New Urbanism enthusiasts came together to debate the future of Nashville’s built environment. Ultimately, they formalized into a group that would advocate for better urban design born of the community’s visions. Our team continues to strive towards influencing a better built environment for all.
Four Pillars of Guiding Principles for Civic DesignOur work is extremely interdisciplinary and tuned into current events all while being rooted in advocating for our Guiding Principles. While our staff have diverse interests and skills, we aim to collectively make an impact within these Four Pillars.
1. Representation
People, culture, and history are first and foremost in community engagement.
2. Foundation
Infrastructure design must set us up for livable and accessible resources.
3. Preservation
History should support civic identity and local economies, but never oppression.
4. Expansion
Development must prioritize density along corridors and public space for all.
Working at the Design CenterAt the Civic Design Center, our staff are constantly saying that this is the workplace where they can truly live out their passion. As a non-profit, the community is our client, which makes us unique from a design firm answering RFPs. Our Design Studio takes the community’s ideas and turns them into visions that we can advocate for, especially ensuring that socially conscious design is at the forefront of our work. We never tell a community what is right for their neighborhood, but we will use our design expertise to help them form opinions that will shape their public spaces. Ultimately, our staff must be passionate about pulling seats up to the table, welcoming diverse ideas, and facilitating connections across industries. If your enthusiasm feeds off of people’s passions, this is where you belong.
Work in the design and planning field takes a lot of time and energy, so work-life balance is extremely important to us. All full-time staff work on a 32-hour work week with a flexible work-from-home schedule and generous PTO benefits.
Note: We are a pet-friendly office, however please do not let that prevent you from applying as this our number one priority is making sure our team feels welcome, safe, and comfortable.
Interns + Fellows
Two Design Fellows work with the Design & Research Assistant on a project
Rolling applications are now open for a paid Design Intern position. Portfolios required. Final Deadline May 1st.
See the data from our Intern and Fellow Program here
Since the organization was founded in 2001, internships and fellowships have always been a regular feature to the organization. We believe that students or recent graduates should have the opportunity to participate in community research and design projects that go outside the box.
The Civic Design Center highly values its interns and fellows—often their final projects grow into formal publications that they may use on their resumes. Since our team is relatively small, interns and fellows become a crucial voice and demonstrate great leadership on their projects.
Equal Employment OpportunityAt the Civic Design Center, Equal Employment Opportunity is a major policy commitment and an important company goal. The Design Center commits to attracting, retaining, developing, and promoting the most qualified employees without regard to their race, color, creed, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, national origin or ancestry, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, military status, or any other consideration made unlawful by federal, state, or local laws. All such discrimination is unlawful and prohibited by the Civic Design Center. The Design Center openly welcomes applicants from a diversity of backgrounds, identities, experiences, abilities, and ideas.