Citopia’s founding members, Farina Fassihi, Ghazaleh Akbarnejad, and Rahil Adeli are alumni or students of Master of Urban Studies at Simon Fraser University. Being professionals and academics specialized in urban planning, architecture and design, community engagement, and data-driven social studies research, they are committed to bringing an interdisciplinary approach to design of urban policies, processes, and places. As immigrant women, Citopia members bring diverse lived and professional experiences to their work, which allows them to engage underserved communities and practice empathy in their plans and designs. Citopia believes in spaces that are active and engaged, and communities that are leaders of change.

Offering legal, financial, and administration consultation support, along with providing office space and other resources, Solid State has played a crucial role in the establishment and progress of Citopia. Citopia Coop works closely with the City of Surrey and other civic institutions in Surrey. Therefore, Solid State’s contribution to building connections with the civic institutions in Surrey and acquiring more in-depth knowledge and contextual background about the Surrey community’s most outstanding concerns and initiatives has paved the way to Citopia’s reaching its ultimate goals of pursuing equity-seeking changes in Surrey.