JIMA Studio leverages landscape architecture and urban planning to help various communities envision and build upon their futures.
See Our ProjectsJIMA (jee-mah) Studio is a landscape architectural design and urban planning studio that collaborates with community groups, organizations and builders committed to culturally relevant placemaking and strategic implementation. We centralize participatory design methods to provide full site design and planning services, from idea to implementation.
JIMA stems from the Kwanzaa principle Ujima (ooh-jee-mah), which means “collective work and responsibility.” It is the ethos of this studio to work collaboratively with other changemakers and use design as a vehicle toward accountability in placemaking, placekeeping, and land stewardship.
Ujijji Davis Williams is a practicing landscape architect, urban planner and researcher based in Detroit. She is the recipient of the 2020 Michigan ASLA Emerging Professional of the Year Award, and the recipient of the 2019 National ASLA Bradford Williams Medal of Excellence for her design literature. She is the Founding Partner of JIMA Studio. Prior to JIMA, Ujijji served as Associate at SmithGroup for over six years, leading critical landscape and urban design work, including neighborhood planning, greenways and streetscapes in Detroit and other post-industrial cities across the country. Ujijji serves as Adjunct Professor at the University of Detroit-Mercy School of Architecture.
Landscape Architect — Michigan #3901001710
Taubman College of Architecture and Planning, University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, MI, Graduated 2017
Master of Urban Planning, Rackham Merit Fellow
Graduate Service to the Community Award
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Cornell University
Ithaca, NY, Graduated 2012
Bachelor of Science of Landscape Architecture, Cornell Tradition Fellow