UrbanPlan is a high-school lesson plan that uses town planning as a means for student interaction. The program was created in 2002 as a joint project between the Urban Land Institute and the Fisher Center for Real Estate and Urban Economics at the University of California, Berkeley. The program spread to high schools across the country in 2003, and a recent program in the Denver area drew my attention through coverage in the Denver Post.
The idea of a land planning exercise as a means to engage students about their community is a great idea. The students must work as a team to solve the complex problems of urban planning, fostering more knowledge of the pressures of growth, affordability and sustainability of their urban areas. It’s also a means to prepare these future citizens for the tough decisions that need to take place when planning future land use.
Students are assigned to a development team and asked to respond to a “Request for Proposal†for the redevelopment of a blighted neighborhood in a hypothetical community. Each team member assumes one of five roles: finance director, marketing director, city liaison, neighborhood liaison, or site planner. By acting in these roles, students gain an understanding of the various stakeholders in the development process and the challenge of reconciling the often competing agendas to create a well-designed, sustainable project.
The three-week project involves interactive meetings and planning sessions, culminating in a presentation to local land use professionals that critique the student’s work. According to the group’s website the students gain an understanding of three fundamental principles: 1. The built environment does not happen by accident or by mandate, 2. Good development must accommodate market realities as well as public needs and desires, and 3. Our actions as citizens and consumers influence what is built, when it’s built, and where it’s built.
The program sounds like an excellent mix of interactive and challenging material that provides valuable real-world lessons.
