Process

At Line and Grade, we believe that great places begin not with blueprints but with understanding.

We approach every project by finding—and then forming—common ground.

The land speaks if we know how to listen. Communities contain wisdom if we know how to ask.

Transportation, water systems, and land development aren’t abstract problems to be solved with standard solutions. They’re intimate challenges that require both technical expertise and human understanding.

At the beginning of every engagement, Line and Grade learns the landscape and develops a close relationship with the place itself. Honoring the humans who make their home on that land, we conduct comprehensive surveys, hold town hall conversations, and sit down with the neighbors whose lives will be shaped by our work. Listening deeply and creating fertile space for hard conversations is key to every project’s beginning.

In each step of this phase, our aim is to diminish barriers to involvement, build strong relationships, and earn trust from community members, stakeholders, and leaders.

No matter the particularities of the geography or the unique challenges of a place, there’s always shared humanity to be found. A farming community’s concerns about water access allude to the stormwater management challenges of a growing suburb. A conversation about flooding in one region uncovers drainage solutions in another. This portability of insight makes us better engineers and planners because it calls us to be better listeners.

Our team brings a deep understanding of the integrated, connective nature of planning and civil engineering. We strive to unite people and places by blending creativity and technical understanding through meaningful interdisciplinary practice.

Our design methodology integrates qualitative and quantitative measures, blending the rigor of civil engineering and technical planning with the insights of human-centered design.

By leveraging the latest technologies, we craft simple, elegant solutions to complex challenges, contributing to a built environment that enhances wellness, nature, education, commerce, and community.

What began with a deep love of civil engineering has evolved into a more robust and comprehensive practice. Line and Grade provides value at any point in your project lifecycle, from the earliest conversations about possibility to the final inspection and beyond.

Our planning and analytics teams embody the finding practice—research, community engagement, feasibility studies, and strategic visioning. Our civil engineering and infrastructure services embody the forming practice—forensics, design, permitting, construction oversight, and implementation. But we never separate them entirely: Every plan we develop is informed by the practical realities of construction. Every structure we build carries forward insights from resonant community conversations.

We hold these two practices—finding and forming—in dynamic tension. One extends outward; the other roots downward. One seeks patterns; the other honors particularity. Together, they create infrastructure that doesn’t just function but builds belonging.

Explore our work.