The Community Design Studio (CDS), formerly the Joint Urban Design Program, is based at PURL. The CDS is a community outreach program that facilitates interaction between the university and the broader community and promotes design as a way to further dialogue and to address urban issues.

The CDS conducts intensive workshops (community-based charrettes) that help neighborhoods and other city stakeholders focus on and respond to critical needs through urban design and group education and consensus.

Its mission is to help residents of the Phoenix metropolitan area and other Arizona cities and towns make informed decisions about the future design of their communities. As such, the CDS serves as a bridge linking neighborhood groups and community leaders with the faculty, students and alumni of the College of Design, as well a other professional practitioners.

The results of community design charrettes and other studies are published by the CDS on the college web page, in printed reports, and as posters.