In New York and Chicago, most civic work is done by local firms. In LA, it's 50-50 public-private. In San Francisco, upwards of 70 percent of city-run projects are designed by the Bureau of Architecture, a city agency within the Department of Public Works. In these particularly tough times, local firms are clamoring for any work they can get, and architects on both sides of the issue are coming to blows. The Architect's Newspaper