Livable Cities Studio is a mission-driven urban design, planning and landscape architecture studio committed to building cities for lived experiences that celebrate social connection and inclusivity. We are city builders who understand the responsibility that comes with addressing the complex needs of urbanization through innovative solutions in the built environment. Our work transforms cities, neighborhoods and communities by creating living spaces with distinct value for the people who use them.
Our work in urban planning ranges from parks, plazas, and streetscapes to urban corridors, districts, neighborhoods, and citywide strategic planning. We reconsider the traditional role of infrastructure by emphasizing people, natural systems and new forms of public space. From large-scale stormwater infrastructure to transportation improvements, we look to leverage infrastructure investments to shape cities by providing public spaces that unite residents, visitors and all people of each city, neighborhood and community we serve.
It’s the people who use our designs that bring the place to life. Our people-first mentality starts in the studio, by using processes, methods and digital innovation that emphasize the human experience. We believe that locals know their community better than anyone else, and we’re committed to creating an engaging process that allows us to listen to their collective voices while providing a roadmap that delivers on what we heard.
We always look beyond the parameters of a specific project to unlock its potential to affect catalytic change within a community. With our eyes to the future, we are constantly building collaborative partnerships that provide the springboard for unforeseen challenges and solutions, resulting in ongoing innovation, refinement and reapplication that will elevate public spaces for generations to come.
We are a certified WBE, DBE, EBE and SBE in the City and County of Denver.
Meet Our Team
Meredith Wenskoski
President
President and Founder of Livable Cities Studio, Meredith Wenskoski is an urban designer, planner, and landscape architect whose work focuses on people, equity, and resilience. With a passion for designing spaces that emphasize connection and the human experience, Meredith’s 20 years of experience spans parks and public space design, streetscapes, urban design, public housing, and parks planning. With a focus on the intersection of housing, equity, public realm, and resiliency, Meredith’s human-centered design work creates long-term benefits for people and places. Meredith is distinguished for her strategic leadership, collaborative spirit, and ability to build and navigate partnerships across sectors and functions. Her work on both planning and implementation allows her to seamlessly transition between a variety of project scales bringing a broader understanding to each one. Meredith is known for her ability to navigate and build partnerships, her interdisciplinary team leadership, her responsiveness to clients and her excellent communication skills.
Todd Wenskoski
Principal
Will Viitanen
Associate Principal, Landscape Architect
Will is an associate principal and landscape architect at Livable Cities Studio with more than 10 years of experience leading and designing unique projects across a variety of sectors and scales, from international civic and university campuses to local parks and gardens. Will’s work explores the power of landscape in addressing complex social, economic, and environmental issues through interventions that weave architecture and landscape as one. His background in architecture informs his sensibility toward design thinking, craft, and detailing—while his landscape architecture and planning experience lends itself to an integrated, place-based approach to sustainable design, performance, and resilience. Will’s vision, leadership, and attention to quality ensure success for projects and teams.
Will holds a Master of Landscape Architecture from the University of Colorado Denver and a Bachelor of Environmental Design degree from the University of Colorado Boulder. He is active in the Downtown Denver Partnership, ULI, and AIA.
Conrey Morris
Associate, Landscape Architect
Conrey is an associate and landscape architect skilled in design, planning, project management, 3D modeling, technical documentation, graphic design, and visualization. Since joining Livable Cities Studio in 2017, Conrey has worked on projects of all phases and scales, with particular emphasis on urban infill, streetscape revitalization, and affordable housing. Conrey sees the true value of design as a medium for social improvement and aims to positively influence the communities he works with by tackling key issues through comprehensive design and building relationships with mission-based organizations. Conrey earned his Bachelor of Landscape Architecture from Colorado State University, where his studies focused on global environmental sustainability and sociology, he served as the President of CSU’s Student Chapter of ASLA, and earned the department’s Exemplary Leadership Award. Currently, he champions the integration of BIM/Revit into our studio workflow and serves the broader design community as a member of the ASLA Colorado/Wyoming Executive Board.
Melanie Carpenter
Landscape Architect
Melanie is a landscape architect at Livable Cities Studio whose talents and experience span an extensive range of project types, both public and private. She has worked both nationally and internationally, equipping her with a depth of experience in streetscapes, parks, playgrounds, and on-structure spaces. Her driven attitude pushes her to seek the best outcomes possible for a project and dig deep to uncover a site’s inherent identity. Melanie’s projects celebrate each project site individually, recognizing each site’s context and narrative as unique. She is focused on seeing projects through construction and creating meaningful and tangible impacts for communities. Melanie holds a Master of Landscape Architecture from the University of Minnesota and a Bachelor of Environmental Design degree, also from the University of Minnesota.
Chelsea Gieryic
Landscape Designer + Planner
Chelsea is a landscape designer and certified planner at Livable Cities Studio with a diverse educational background and a breadth of experience in public and private projects. She is focused on combining research, health equity, public engagement, and artistic intervention to design places for communities and the environment. With experience in coordinating city-wide public engagement efforts, Chelsea is passionate about collaborating with communities to create impactful designs and vision documents. She earned her Master of Landscape Architecture and Master of Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Colorado Denver in 2021 where her studies focused on environmental justice through landscape planning, and she was awarded the ASLA Student Honor Award for her project work. Chelsea is active in the ASLA Colorado/Wyoming Chapter, serving on the executive board as the Vice President of Communications.
Lauren Kelly
Landscape Designer
Lauren is a landscape designer at Livable Cities Studio. She brings dedication and enthusiasm to streetscape, park, and public realm design. Lauren is passionate about interdisciplinary work and highly values research and innovation in all her projects. She embraces design as a pathway to stronger social communities and improved ecological environments. Lauren earned her Master of Landscape Architecture and Master of Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Colorado Denver in 2022, where her studies focused on environmental equity and public realm improvements. She also served as CU Denver’s ASLA student chapter president. Lauren enjoys running, skiing, gardening, and cooking in her free time.
Madison Wulfkuhle
Landscape Designer
Madison is a landscape designer at Livable Cities Studio. As a designer, she is passionate about creating iconic, experience-driven places and is inspired by narrative and placemaking design that is rooted into the experience. Madison earned her Master of Landscape Architecture from Kansas State University in 2022, where she was awarded the Prairie Gateway Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects’ Honor and Merit Awards for her work. She is a thriftier extraordinaire and enjoys the great outdoors, hanging with her friends, and exploring Denver on her off hours.
Yishuen Lo
Strategic Advisor
Yishuen brings over 10 years of experience in parks design and planning, urban design, and public housing aimed at empowering communities. As a woman of color and an immigrant who moved to the US at a young age, she offers a unique perspective and ensures the voices and experiences of marginalized communities are authentically represented in the planning and design process. Her approach emphasizes user experience and equity, integrating inclusive visual communication, technology, and design to foster genuine human interaction with the built environment. Drawing from her diverse background in landscape architecture, urban design, and emerging technologies, Yishuen is recognized for her ability to distill complex design challenges into compelling narratives rooted in the cultural and environmental contexts of the communities she serves.