Colette brings thirty-five years of urban design, community planning, and landscape architecture experience from three countries (United States, United Kingdom, and Canada), and five cities (Seattle, San Diego, San Francisco, London and Vancouver) to her current work.
Colette studied both landscape architecture and architecture and during a year abroad in Florence, Italy became passionate about urban design. She graduated, with honours, from the California State University in San Luis Obispo in 1986 and became a registered Landscape Architect in 1990 in California.
Her career has spanned both public and private practice, focusing on the physical improvement of the public realm and surrounding communities. Her private sector work has focused on downtown and neighbourhood plans; waterfront and streetscape planning and design; and developing urban design policy and design guidelines. Colette Parsons is senior and seasoned practitioner who also is a leader in providing engaging community consultation processes.
Colette founded Studio Parsons in 2014 and works collaboratively with multi-disciplinary teams on her project work. She is adept at integrating multiple viewpoints and disciplines. She brings the benefit of a diverse background in public and private sector work, to multiple clients and projects.
Colette also believes in the on-going involvement in her registered professions of both landscape architecture and planning through participation on committees, urban design panels, mentorship, guest critic, guest editor, contributor to landscape architectural magazines, and as an oral interviewer with planning candidates.
Colette is also an avid urban sketcher and outdoorswoman.
Project Images
No. 1 + 2: Central Valley Greenway, Vancouver, BC
No. 3: Grandview Woodland Neighbourhood Plan, Vancouver, BC
No. 4: Ambleside Revitalization Strategy, West Vancouver, BC
No. 5: Northeast False Creek Streetscape Urban Design Framework, Vancouver, BC
No. 6: Tofino Downtown Plan, District of Tofino, BC
