Planning and Zoning

The impacts of zoning code updates and planning policy changes can often feel abstract or intangible to both citizens and decision-makers. By modeling prototypical development scenarios, we can bring these changes to life—visually demonstrating how new regulations might shape the built environment over time. This approach makes future outcomes more tangible, easier to understand, and more predictable, fostering informed dialogue, clearer expectations, and stronger community engagement throughout the planning process.

Urban Design and Placemaking

Leveraging virtual 3D models as a foundational design tool enables projects to move from concept to reality with greater speed, precision, and public support. By visualizing spaces in context early in the process, teams can make more informed decisions, identify challenges before they arise, and communicate more effectively with stakeholders — ultimately resulting in higher-quality built environments that better serve their communities.

The Spaces Between Buildings

Communities are built around the connections made between great places. I believe the best design happens at the intersection of thoughtful planning and human connection — creating inclusive, engaging spaces that invite interaction and strengthen the social fabric of the city.

Digital Twins – VR / Realtime

Digital Twins offer a dynamic platform for planning and development review. Through virtual reality and real-time exploration, they bring potential outcomes to life — enabling stakeholders to examine proposed changes from every angle. This enhances clarity, streamlines the review process, and supports faster consensus and more confident decision-making, ultimately fostering transparency, collaboration, and trust at every stage.

These portfolio samples represent work that I completed either exclusively or within a team that I oversaw while at: Winston Associates, MIG, WSP, or Metta Urban Design.

Chase Mullen is a planner and urban designer who specializes in using graphic communication to enhance community engagement and inform decision-making. What sets Chase apart is his rare combination of technical proficiency, design acumen, and extensive planning experience. By leveraging virtual 3D models as a foundational tool, he enables projects and policies to transition from concept to reality more efficiently, predictably, and with stronger public and stakeholder support.

With over two decades of experience, Chase has collaborated with architects, engineers, designers, and fellow planners on a wide array of projects—from intimate public plazas to large-scale regional plans. A central challenge he consistently addresses is the uncertainty and apprehension that often accompany change. Chase confronts this by empowering stakeholders through clearer visualization, meaningful engagement, and inclusive design processes. His work improves project outcomes by:

• Engaging Stakeholders More Effectively – Through intuitive graphics and interactive simulations, Chase makes complex proposals easy to understand. His visual tools allow community members to explore proposed changes from multiple perspectives, building transparency, trust, and constructive dialogue.

• Designing Collaboratively – By facilitating live 3D design charrettes, he creates real-time, participatory sessions where stakeholders see their input directly influence the evolving design. This hands-on approach fosters a sense of ownership and boosts project support.

• Accelerating Design Iteration – Chase integrates rapid feedback loops into the design process by embedding 3D visualization into review cycles. This enables more focused, actionable feedback and sharper design outcomes.

• Clarifying Policy and Code Changes – Zoning and planning policies can feel abstract or opaque. Chase bridges that gap by modeling prototypical scenarios that vividly demonstrate the tangible impacts of proposed changes — making future implications clearer for both citizens and decision-makers.

Beyond project work, Chase is a passionate educator. He believes that building better communities is a collaborative effort — and that education plays a critical role. As a university instructor, conference speaker, and creator of video learning materials, he is committed to advancing the planning and design professions. His mission: to raise standards, expand professional capacity, and contribute to a built environment that serves everyone more effectively.

NON-FICTIONAL VISUALIZATION

Working with real-world data to create visualizations that not only tell a story but are technically accurate is a specialty of mine. My deep bench of software expertise allows me to utilize data from many sources and seamlessly weave them together. From large-scale environmental simulations to legal disputes, my ability to create simulations that hold up to scrutiny is part of my professional reputation.

MENTORSHIP

Design is a team sport and I like to win. Anecdotally, for about the past decade it has been the standard practice to shuffle desks around so that new staff sits next to me. I take pride in molding junior staff into highly capable associates that reinforce the foundations of the company. By cultivating robust technical capabilities, professional expectations, design sense, and passion … none of my mentees gets picked last for a team.

DESIGN + VISUALIZATION

Design visualization is not something that happens at the eleventh hour, well, it is, but … it should be integrated into the design process. Pixels cost time and money to produce. By continuously evolving the production/design workflow in ways to stay nimble, reuse resources, and incrementally work towards the final product, the cost per pixel decreases, and our impact on the built environment increases.

PASSION

I love what I do. It is quite literally the job I have wanted since I first clicked a mouse. Creating virtual places to better the real world is my purpose and my passion.

Education

B.A., Environmental Design and Planning | University of Colorado | Boulder, CO | May, 2005

Employment

Owner | Mulled Pixel | Littleton, CO | April 2025 – ongoing

Urban Design and Visualization | Metta Urban Design | Denver, CO | January 2024 – April 2025

Lead Design Visualization Specialist | WSP | Denver, CO | January 2021 – December 2023

Director of Design Visualization | Moore Iacofano Goltsman (MIG) | Denver, CO | August 2012 – December 2020

Urban Design and Visualization | Winston Associates | Boulder, CO | February 2003 – August 2012 (merger with MIG)

Undergraduate Professor of SketchUp | University of Colorado | Boulder, CO | Spring 2006 – Fall 2008, Fall 2009

Graduate Professor of Graphics for Planners | University of Colorado | Denver, CO | Spring 2009

Summer Intern | Slarks & Associates Inc | Boulder, CO | Summer 1998

Summer Intern | Computer Terrain Mapping | Boulder, CO | Summer 1997

Summer Intern | Design Workshop | Denver, CO | Summer 1996

Awards

National APA Honors Award for Technology | 2019 | Orem State Street Rezoning

Daniel Burnham Award for a Comprehensive Plan | 2009 | Kigali Comprehensive Plan Master Plan

Publications

Planetizen Course | VR for Planners | 2018

Professional Involvement

Speaker | National APA Conference | 2007-2008, 2018 | 3D Visualization and the Development Review Process, VR and Community Engagement

Speaker | Colorado APA Conference | 2008, 2011 | 3D Visualization and Engaging the Public

Speaker | Colorado ASLA Conference | 2006 | 3D Visualization and Engaging the Public

Speaker | Community Matters | 2006-2007, 2010 | 3D Visualization and Tools

Some people and places where the collaboration went especially well.

JASON BENCH
CITY OF OREM UTAH – PLANNING DIVISION MANAGER

“Your work is invaluable. I hope you know how much its appreciated.”

STEVEN WILLIAMS
SUPERIOR, COLORADO – SENIOR PLANNER

“

TIM WATKINS
LAYTON, UTAH – SENIOR PLANNER

“Over the years Chase has helped Carson City tremendously.”

LEE PLEMEL
CARSON CITY ,NEVADA – COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR

chase.mullen@gmail.com