Research is the core of any lasting and viable design.  Assessing the existing environment and projecting the effects of proposed alternatives guides prudent investment. 

A knowledge of the history of a place--what made it what it is--and why--are essential questions to be asked and answered.  This foundation serves to inform the designer as to what may be prudent and lasting choices. 

It also serves as the frame for ongoing monitoring and evaluation of investments--so that knowledge from lessons learned can be rapidly applied in making adjustments to protect those investments.

Our Community By Design planning, implementation and evaluation model is very much that sort of an approach.  No one person can know all there is to know--so fundamentally we work in collaboration, seeking the knowledge that is imbedded in each one of us--yearning to be released and applied in all we do.  Organizations and institutions, in fact even communities are like that as well--because they are made up of people.