The CTM demonstrates the ever-changing nature of cities by breaking them into states of identity. Every city undergoes significant changes at some point in its history, the scale of those changes and time in-between them is variable, but change is an intrinsic property of cities. This model allows us to see where a city sits on a continuum so we can determine which strategies are most suitable. The CTM is broken into four primary categories: past states, current state, future states, and a state of transformation between each shift.

During a state of transformation the city is simultaneously in two different states. This is a highly dynamic and exciting point of time because actors are navigating from one state to the next—this is where real change happens. These states are not necessarily good or bad; neither are the changes that exist between them. Within each state there will be actors who are satisfied and others who struggle; my goal is that with each instance of transformation we get closer to developing a state that is inclusive of the needs of the most people possible.