City Systems is a nonprofit consultancy founded by Derek Ouyang and Rob Best in 2017, currently focused on a handful of data-driven projects in partnership with government and community-based organizations in Northern California. If you are looking for more information or have a project in mind, contact us at info@city.systems.

Featured Project

Aduo is an open-source, less-than-$100K, plug-in garage ADU solution for the Bay Area, made possible by the Philanthropic Ventures Foundation and the Facebook Housing Innovation Fund. Learn more at aduo.org

Other Projects

• Sustainable San Mateo County Dashboard (2024): We developed a comprehensive dashboard of sustainability metrics for SSMC. The tool allows for simultaneous exploration of a map and historical trends.
• 10 Big Ideas for San Francisco (2023): Derek Ouyang participated in a SF Chronicle community journalism project which published 10 big ideas to help fix San Francisco. Derek made direct contributions to proposals for a Downtown Dollars transit rewards program, a new car-free route through downtown called the Big Wiggle, mobile peacekeeping units called peacelets, a library-led city jobs training program, a downtown university campus, and new housing in the middle of wide streets like Folsom (see honorable mention). We especially would like to prototype the Downtown Dollars program in 2024; if you have experience coding NFC-based mobile apps, please reach out!
• San Mateo County Extreme Heat Dashboard (2023): We developed a dashboard for the SMC Office of Sustainability to view CalAdapt extreme heat forecasts overlaid on various census metrics.
• ADU Look-up Tools (2023): Since our first tool for Napa and Sonoma Counties, we have developed additional ADU look-up tools for jurisdictions in Orange County, Los Angeles County, and Ventura County (housingsocal.org), jurisdictions in Amador County, Calaveras County, Mariposa County, and Nevada County (motherlodeadu.org), jurisdictions in Alameda County (adu.acgov.org), and jurisdictions in El Dorado County (eldoradoadu.org).
• Belle Haven Environmental Justice Survey (2022): Supporting Climate Resilient Communities, we designed and analyzed a 400+ household survey to understand environmental justice-related disparities, particularly in the Belle Haven neighborhood, which informed the City of Menlo Park's Environmental Justice and Safety Elements. The final report can be viewed as part of the City's published materials (starting on PDF page 145), and an interactive version of the survey results can be viewed here.
• Joint Venture Silicon Valley Public Company Stock Tracker (2022): We developed a stock tracker for JVSV to support exploration of a potential future regional ETF to support investment in local place-based improvements.
• Casita Coalition ADU Interpretation Index (2022): We developed an interactive search tool enabling members of the Casita Coalition to find ADU statutes and supplementary HCD interpretations. See a preview of the tool at the bottom of this page.
• Campus Project Mapping Tools (2022): We developed a series of web tools helping Stanford organizations map various initiatives across campus (Office of Community Engagement), or research projects in locations around the world (Center for Innovation in Global Health, King Center).
• ShowPlace (2021): We developed a DIY web tool for community organizations to create interactive map dashboards that feature places of interest. The data and view configuration are designed to be managed via an Airtable. Click here to get started with ShowPlace.
• San Mateo County ADU Outreach Tool (2021): We developed a prioritization tool for San Mateo County’s Office of Sustainability to target their ADU outreach via social media ads. Read explanatory article.
• COVID-19 Response (2021): In partnership with Delivery Associates and the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative, we supported some U.S. cities, including Stamford, CT, in the development of pandemic decision-making tools informed by mobility data from SafeGraph.
• EPA-ADU Initiative (2021): In partnership with other community organizations, we formed a successor initiative to the City’s Second Unit Task Force to advance community-driven ADU solutions, and developed a website which includes an address look-up tool and a permit fee calculator (see guide).
• Napa Sonoma ADU Look-up Tool (2020): We developed an address look-up tool for the Napa Sonoma ADU Center’s new website that allows property owners to determine their ADU eligibility in accordance with new state laws. As local zoning ordinances continue to be updated, the Center can easily update the tool using a Google Sheet.
• East Palo Alto ADU Policy Impact Analysis (2020): We assisted the City of East Palo Alto with analyzing the impacts of their ADU local ordinance update scenarios on ADU eligibility at the parcel-level. This technical report, coupled with a public workshop and survey, ultimately informed the local ordinance adopted at the end of 2020.
• Stockton Green Economy Analysis (2019): We analyzed greenhouse gas reduction and job growth strategies for the City of Stockton, in partnership with the Office of the Mayor and local community-based organizations like Reinvent South Stockton Coalition.
• East Palo Alto Second Unit Task Force Report (2019): We assisted a community task force in East Palo Alto in the development of a final report summarizing three years of their investigations and recommendations for preservation and production of affordable housing. In particular, we spearheaded the design of the systems diagram and strategy framework featured in the report.
• East Palo Alto Garage Conversions (2019): We supported Rebuilding Together Peninsula in the legalization of two garages with unpermitted living spaces in East Palo Alto. View the projects here and here.
• Complete Communities Framework: We’re working on an open-source, data-driven method for measuring and improving the “completeness” of communities, or the ability of residents to access amenities they value within a reasonable travel time (e.g., 15 minutes), using modes they prefer.

News

• May 2024: The Nevada County Planning Department received two APA awards for the Mother Lode ADU online resources (motherlodeadu.org), which include our address look-up tool. Read the press release.
• February 2023: Derek Ouyang was featured in the SF Chronicle's Fixing Our City Podcast, titled "What do you get when you cross academia with government?" The podcast covers the Aduo initiative and coincides with the completion of the first Aduo demonstration in North Fair Oaks. See videos and other news coverage about Aduo here.
• November 2021: Julia has moved on to an exciting new opportunity in New York. She single-handedly carried City Systems through a successful year of data-driven projects, and will be deeply missed. Anybody interested in joining City Systems should reach out at info@city.systems.
• May 2021: City Systems was awarded part of a $1.5 million Facebook Housing Innovation Fund to develop the Aduo initiative. “We need radical collaboration, now more than ever,” said James Higa, executive director of the Philanthropic Ventures Foundation. “It was an honor and a joy to collaborate with Facebook, our community advisors, and grassroots front line organizations like City Systems for these grants. We are stronger when we march together.” Read the press release and read our Medium announcement.
• April 2021: City Systems was featured in a Placekey Webinar for its COVID-19 response work with Delivery Associates and the City of Stamford, Connecticut. View the video recording.
• April 2021: City Systems hired its first employee, Julia Wagenfehr, who is joining as a Data Scientist and Designer to support all active projects.
• August 2019: City Systems was featured as one of 12 case studies in the Meeting of the Minds Behavior Change Article Series. Read the article or view the whole report: Behavior Change Tactics for Urban Challenges
• November 2018: Derek Ouyang moderated a panel discussion with City of Stockton Mayor Michael Tubbs and FUSE Fellow Ann Rogan at the Meeting of the Minds Annual Summit. View the video recording.
• May 2018: Derek Ouyang was a guest on the U.S. Green Building Council’s “Built for Health” podcast discussing “Public Spaces and Urban Design”. Read the article or listen to the episode.