Areas of Practice

Woodsong Associates works at the crossroads of urban and regional planning, development feasibility analysis, natural and working lands planning, spatial analysis, and climate action for equitable outcomes. We seek to provide innovative solutions for these urgent crises, with a focus on the interplay between human habitat, the built environment, and the GHG emissions reductions we must achieve to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. 

Real Estate

  • Development feasibility economics

  • Master and site planning

  • Affordability analyses

Previous work

The Dekum Charles Condominium (2018)
Client: Woodsong Property Renovation Partners, LLC

Missing Middle Housing, the new book by Dan Parolek of Opticos Design, features a chapter focusing on the case study of the Dekum Charles project by Woodsong Associates Managing Director, Garlynn Woodsong. The Dekum Charles was the first conversion of a single family home to a fourplex under the current commercial building code in Portland, OR. An adaptive re-use project, it involved raising an existing 1890 Queen Anne Vernacular home onto a new foundation, creating a new daylight basement space under the retained existing two main floors of the original house. The top floor was completely re-built as new construction, restoring the look of the original street-facing facade from 1890. All parts of the building were brought up to commercial building standards, including for energy efficiency.

The Dekum Charles is an adaptive re-use conversion of an existing 1890 Queen Anne Vernacular single family home into a fourplex

Planning

  • Pro forma-driven zoning code audits

  • Zoning for middle & opportunity housing

  • Comprehensive, area, town center, and corridor plans

  • Equitable Development Initiatives

Previous work

Southwest Corridor Area and Site Planning (2020)
Client: City of Portland, Bureau of Planning and Sustainability

Garlynn Woodsong was the consulting project manager to plan for zoning changes to implement a Town Center in West Portland, including planning for equitable development outcomes for a large and growing East African population. The team included: Cascadia Partners as lead, EconNorthwest for market analysis; UrbsWorks for urban design and site analysis; and Mithun for health equity analysis and implementation recommendations. Tools used include: UrbanFootprint for station area scenario planning; a beta version of the Envision Tomorrow pro forma tool; GIS, R, and spreadsheets, for demographic analysis. The project sought to provide  pathways for equity of access to housing and economic opportunity in complete communities with health equity, small business growth, and community resiliency.

Scenario Map showing potential growth areas in the West Portland Town Center, based on community feedback

Urban Analytics

  • Scenario Planning

  • Performance-driven plan audits

  • Innovation at the intersection of GIS and big data

Previous work

San José Natural and Working Lands Project (2021)
Clients: City of San José, CA, Environmental Services Department Santa Clara County, CA Open Space Authority

Garlynn Woodsong was the consulting project manager to create a Natural and Working Lands (NWL) Element of the Climate Smart San Jose Climate Action Plan for the City of San José, developing and deploying a suite of scenario planning tools to evaluate the impact that land management policies and land use and transportation changes on and around natural and working lands on San José’s net GHG emissions profile. A “baseline” GHG inventory was mapped and quantified based on present day land uses, and alternative scenarios developed to test new strategies and policies beyond those currently adopted, showing how protection and enhancements made on NWLs can support the City’s environmental goals and GHG reduction targets.

VMT per service population is shown using a choropleth map, which is then extruded to show the total size of the service population (total homes plus total jobs) within each hexagrid cell.

  • Urbanism-driven energy demand reduction strategies

  • Adaptive urbanism planning

  • Managed retreat strategies

Sustainable Human Futures

Previous work

Climate Resilience Credits Project (2022)
Client: Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST)

The Climate Resilience Credits Project is a feasibility study intended to produce an innovative program for land conservation and climate action. Woodsong Associates is part of a team of subject matter experts working in partnership with the City of San José and County staff to understand the landscape of possibilities for establishing a credit-based program in the Coyote Valley. Such a program would cross the City and County jurisdictions and allow property owners with lands under conservation and restoration in Coyote Valley to capture some of the ecological value of their land. These credits could be sold for CEQA mitigation and as a means of meeting the climate goals of the County, cities, local institutions, and businesses.

Map of a Natural and Working Land restoration scenario for the Coyote Valley.