About Us

Green Town Planning.

Sustainability. Urbanism.

Smart Growth. Placemaking

After serving Cities, Counties and private entities with planning and design services since 2022, I am winding down my business to retire in 2026.  Thank you to my clients and associates for many yeas of collaboratively creating great urban spaces, parks and public facilities. The time has certainly flown! For over 40 years, I have worked and gained rich experience in landscape architecture and urban planning. I have accumulated knowledge and expertise to bring many projects into reality.  Now is the time to reflect on my career and pass the torch to the next generations of Landscape Architects and Urban Planners.

-Licensed Florida Landscape Architect (FL LA000273) Ruth Hamberg  PLA  ASLA  AICP  CNU-a.

I served a variety of clients including architects, engineers, planning firms as well as local governments.  My work included site planning, landscape design, permitting support, and sustainable community development strategies.

Ruth Hamberg is retiring! After offering community design services to enhance regions, cities, districts, communities, streets, neighborhoods and sites for many years, it is time to begin the next phase of life- enjoying the fruits of my labor along with taking more time with family.

I love being a Landscape Architect in Florida. Landscape architecture is the art and science of designing exterior spaces: the physical layout of places and cities. Urban designers create the framework for the form, function and layout of cities. Ruth Hamberg’s expertise integrates the two disciplines.

 

Mission: Ruth Hamberg Landscape Architecture & Urban Design provides excellence in urban design, landscape architecture and planning services grounded in the principles of urbanism and environmental sustainability to communities and clients in Florida.

 

Designing Quality Green Communities

Celebrating 20 Years!

 

Based in Orlando since 2002, Ruth Hamberg Landscape Architecture and Urban Design has worked with a variety of clients including City of Orlando and Orange County.  This small woman owned firm provides professional planning consulting services to help design great places, naturally, beautifully, sustainably. Principal Landscape Architect Ruth Hamberg assists communities in Florida who want to create or protect their unique character, provide amenities, strengthen neighborhoods, create vital, mixed use downtowns and entice new business investments. It takes planning to create livable, safe, and sustainable communities that are a joy to live and work in.  Ms. Hamberg can help your community build consensus, tackle issues, benefit from assets and create great, green places to live, work and play.   That’s Green Town Planning.

Florida Professional Landscape Architect license 0001273

American Institute of Certified Planners

American Planning Association

Accredited Urbanist, Congress for New Urbanism

Copyright 2026 Ruth Hamberg Landscape Architecture & Urban Design LLC

 

After earning her bachelor's degree in 1981 from Michigan State University, Ruth Hamberg interned with the MSU Office of Parks and Planning, then with the City of Lansing Parks Dept. Ruth joined Linsemier and Associates to work on the Lansing River Trail Master Plan and a variety of multifamily projects. Ruth made a move to Florida in 1987 to work at the City of Orlando as an Urban Design Planner and stayed for almost 12 years. While there, Ruth was project manager for the Edgewater Drive Enhancement Plan, the Traditional City Overlay District, the first Urban Design Element of the Growth Management Plan in Florida, wrote the 'Xeriscape' Landscape ordinance, worked on historic districts, performed project review for Municipal Planning Board, Board of Zoning Adjustment and the Appearance Review Board. She also worked on the sign code, the billboard issues and pushed for better tree preservation.  Ruth was the project manager for the North International Drive Improvement Project in the tourist district. She also was on the staff team involved with the redevelopment of the Orlando Naval Training Center to Baldwin Park. Next she worked as a Senior Planner at Land Design Innovations Inc. (now SM&E) and contributed several award winning projects.  One that has made a real difference in Central Florida is the Lake Apopka Basin Master Plan Greenways Trails Recreation and Ecotourism for the Friends of Lake Apopka. I was part of a team of expert planners to prepare this award winning plan.  I also worked on: ·  National Trails Symposium Design Competition- The Goldsboro Trail, Sanford, FL:  Ms. Hamberg teamed with LDI (now SM&E) in 2002 to research the site and history of this African-American neighborhood for this trail design competition. Ms. Hamberg prepared a Trail Master Plan, wrote the descriptive text and drew illustrations for a display board submitted to the Florida DEP.  Goldsboro Trail is a rails-to-trails project linking parks, schools, homes to the main street of this historic neighborhood.

·   Parks and Open Space Master Plan, City of Lauderdale Lakes: As a sub-consultant to LDI (now S&ME) in 2003, Ms. Hamberg helped prepare an open space/ recreation inventory & analysis for the City parks master plan. She researched adjacent facilities, recreation sites, parks in adjoining jurisdictions, and state and federal park sites for joint use potential. In 2002 Ruth opened her own studio to focus on primarily public clients. Please see the Projects tab for more.