The design of multicellular communities represents a significant challenge to synthetic biology, and the realization of cellular specialization, organization, and function at macroscopic length scales will open the doors to a vast array of applications. However, we lack fundamental understanding of how to integrate cell-cell interactions, signaling, and the mechanical microenvironment. Our Bio-X IIP projects focus on identifying a simple model system with a precise control mechanism and a transition from single-cell to community behaviors.