ULI education program rolls out in four NYC schools

Real Estate Weekly, Nov 3, 2004

This fall, the New York District Council of the Urban Land Institute (ULI) will launch an updated, high-tech version of ULI's highly successful UrbanPlan program, a national effort to educate secondary school students on the nature of urban development. Known as UrbanPlan II, the initiative is rolling out in four New York City high schools--Stuyvesant, Bronx Science, High School of Telecommunications, and Murry Bergtraum.

ULI's New York District Council Education Committee chairperson and ULI Trustee Merrie S. Frankel, vice president and senior credit officer at Moody's Investors Service, and Joyce Lee, Education Committee vice-chair and chief architect at the City of New York Office of Management and Budget, along with William Staempfli, Education vice-chair and senior associate at Gensler, are implementing the course.

The curriculum of UrbanPlan II is a realistic, engaging and academically challenging classroom-based, computer-supported program (loaded with financial model software) in which high school juniors and seniors learn the roles, issues, trade-offs and economics involved in urban development. It was created by ULI in collaboration with The Fisher Center for Real Estate and Urban Economics at the University of California at Berkeley.

"UrbanPlan II will provide future voters, neighbors, community leaders, public officials, and land use professionals with experience in developing realistic solutions to vexing urban growth challenges," said Frankel.

Complex issues involving government process, economics, finance, environmental considerations, sociology, geography and cultural heritage will be addressed. Students will role-play as a development team and work together to analyze and create a plan to respond to a hypothetical Urban Development Authority Request for Proposal (RFP), affording them hands-on experience in deriving realistic solutions to land use and community design challenges. In addition, it will increase understanding of trade-offs between public and private interests. The course concludes with each team making a presentation to a City Council panel and being judged on their response to an RFP and site plan.

"We draw from the vast expertise of the ULI New York District Council members who have provided their 'real world' experiences by teaching their specialties such as architecture, finance and urban planning," stated Lee.

"The students gain a heightened awareness, understanding and interest in their own community," added Frankel.

UrbanPlan, initiated in 2002 has received strong reviews from all those that have participated in the program. It is expected that UrbanPlan II will be launched in additional New York high schools over the next year.