Navigator
UrbanPlan Program Volunteer
Inspire students and create excitement about the development process, and build public leaders' understanding of the development process.
UrbanPlan
ULI Idaho launched UrbanPlan in Idaho with the University of Idaho’s College of Art and Architecture in Spring 2020. This year, we’re expanding to offer the program to public officials and community leaders in day-long workshops.
“If we are to effectively address the challenge of our growing population, we must elevate the sophistication of local-level discourse. UrbanPlan provides tomorrow’s voters, neighbors, community leaders, public officials, and land-use professionals with the insights and language to become engaged, informed problem-solvers.”
Jim Belfiore
President, Belfiore Real Estate Consulting
What is UrbanPlan?
UrbanPlan is a realistic, engaging curriculum developed by the Fisher School of Economics, University of California, Berkeley. It provides participants with hands-on experience addressing the issues, trade-offs, and economics of land-use planning and urban redevelopment. Provided in various formats, UrbanPlan has been delivered to high school, undergraduate, and graduate students, and public officials and community leaders around the world.
Mission
To create a more sophisticated level of discourse among local stakeholders involved in land use decisions, so we can create better communities.
Impact
Through UrbanPlan, participants discover how the forces of our market economy clash and collaborate with the non-market forces of our representative democracy to create the built environment. People who complete the program understand that: 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 is built, and where it is built.
Bring UrbanPlan to Your Classroom or Community
UrbanPlan can be delivered in-person or virtually to high school, graduate, and undergraduate students, and public officials, staff, and community leaders. Contact ULI Idaho to bring UrbanPlan to your classroom or community.
UrbanPlan with University of Idaho, 2020
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ULI members create a site plan during volunteer training
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Students present their proposal to the Yorktown City Council
Photo By Cushing Terrell
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Professor Bai, Professor Scott, and graduate students watch City Council presentations
Photo By Cushing Terrell
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An experienced UrbanPlan facilitator trains ULI Idaho members to serve as volunteers
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Team ‘Revitalize,’ architecture and landscape architecture graduate students at the University of Idaho
Photo By Cushing Terrell
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Team ‘Matter,’ architecture and landscape architecture graduate students at the University of Idaho
Photo By Cushing Terrell
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Team ‘Revitalize’ presents their proposal to City Council
Photo By Cushing Terrell
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Team ‘Revitalize’ presents their proposal to City Council
Photo By Cushing Terrell
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Students prepare site plans and proposals for City Council
Photo By Cushing Terrell
Volunteer as a Facilitator
Facilitators inspire students and create excitement about the development process. Your role as a Facilitator is to challenge students to think critically about the case study issues and their specific responsibilities on the development project team.
There are two facilitation sessions, each about 45-90 minutes in length. Facilitators meet with student groups after they have developed an initial site plan in response to an RFP from the fictitious City of Elmwood. And again once plans are revised following the first facilitation.
Effective Facilitators have:
- Development project experience.
- Patience to question rather than coach.
- Time and willingness to learn the details of the project case.
Indicate your interest in becoming an UrbanPlan volunteer on Navigator.
Photo By Cushing Terrell
Volunteer as a City Council Member
City Council Members challenge students’ work as if in an actual City Council meeting. Your role as a City Council Member is to assess proposals and select a winning team for the contract.
The City Council Meeting marks the end of the UrbanPlan curriculum, and can range from two to four hours in length. The length of the meeting depends on the number of student groups participating and presenting. We expect our first session to last two hours.
Effective City Council Members have:
- Development project experience.
- Previously presented to, or have sat on, City Councils, Planning Commissions, etc.
- Time and willingness to learn the details of the project case.
Indicate your interest in becoming an UrbanPlan volunteer on Navigator.
Photo By Cushing Terrell
Sponsor UrbanPlan
Sponsors are vital to the success and long-term impact of UrbanPlan. We’re covering the hard costs of UrbanPlan with a grant from ULI Americas, but each implementation of the program requires funds to train instructors and volunteers, market, coordinate, and implement the program. We estimate costs for our pilot run to be $10,000.
Your support as a sponsor will allow ULI Idaho to expand our educational reach to students while maintaining our high level of programming for members and other impact initiatives.
We are looking for sponsors who want to:
- Increase the level of sophistication in development and land use discussions.
- Introduce future generations of leaders and citizens to real estate and land use professions.
- Advance civic education as a means to create and sustain thriving communities.
Contact Us to become a sponsor or make a donation.
What Idaho Students & Volunteers Say About UrbanPlan
“UrbanPlan enhanced my public speaking skills and broadened my perspective as a landscape architect in the overall development and city regulations.” – Student
“I really liked getting to hear feedback from the City Council members at the final presentation. Getting to hear their reasons for why they picked the winning proposal and what they found compelling about each presentation was very useful.” – Student
“UrbanPlan not only taught me about development decisions but also about how to present a compelling proposal.” – Student
“There is nothing else like it available. Hands-on experience is powerful.” – Volunteer
“It’s fun, educational, and productive in promoting planned growth.” – Volunteer
