the team

Matt Lewis, President and Founder of Simplecity. Design, is a true urbanist preserving the natural environment by enhancing the design and quality of our built environment.  Nationally recognized for his award-winning designs, he is considered an industry leader for his ability to establish a community vision through fun and innovative engagement and turn it into a fiscally sustainable reality.   

As an avid skateboarder, Matt developed his understanding of the natural environment at a young age as he used the elements of the public realm as his own personal skateboard park. He came to understand that most built spaces are designed around things, not people.  Coupled with his passion for photography and the ability to see cities through a difference lens, Matt developed a deep-seeded respect for the how the natural environment, built environment, and the culture of a community must work together to inform the development of cities.  In short, Matt became a passionate geographer, city builder, and development policy expert at a very early age.   He is fortunate to have built a career around his passion and now travels across the world assisting communities in creating places people love. 

Before launching Simplecity.Design, Matt spent his public sector career, between 2004-2016, as the Director/ Assistant Director in three of the fastest growing communities in the nation - Hutto, San Marcos, and Austin, Texas. Relevant experience includes leading Vision San Marcos: A River Runs Through Us, winner of the Central Texas APA Current Plan of the Year in 2013, which included extensive public outreach and written to be a concise strategic planning document created for every day users; and directing the Heart of Hutto Old Town Master Plan & Smart Code, winner of the 2009 Envision Central Texas Community Stewardship Award honoring innovative projects helping to preserve and enhance our region’s quality of life, natural resources, and economic vitality.  

Matt has a strong understanding of development and city processes enabling smooth communication and resolution on projects. He created predictable processes in San Marcos reducing permit times from 45 days to 9 days resulting in San Marcos becoming the first location for a Supercharger station in Texas, beating out Austin. He also helped redesign and oversee construction on several key streets, which dramatically reduced traffic crashes, increased transportation options, and created many new jobs, homes, and friends. 

Since starting Simplecity Design, Matt has created the revolutionary award-winning Bastrop Building Block Code, the most advanced development code in the modern era through innovation public engagement and limited regulations.  Matt served on the Congress for New Urbanism National Executive Board of Directors from 2015 – 2019.  He is an engaging speaker and has been invited to speak at numerous national, state, and local conferences as well as serve as a guest lecturer at the University of Texas, Texas A&M University, and Texas State University. 

Matt earned a degree in Geography with an emphasis in Urban & Regional Planning from Texas State University in 2003 and received his urban design certification and Congress of New Urbanism Accreditation (CNUa) at the University of Miami, School of Architecture in 2011.