UrbanPlan at the University

UrbanPlan at the University

The mission of UrbanPlan at the university level is to create more sophisticated and effective land use practitioners entering the professional world: developers, planners, architects, investors and attorneys. Running as a unit within core graduate level courses, it is a pedagogical partnership between a professor and ULI’s land use practitioner volunteers.

UrbanPlan at the University

Practitioners agree that most planners, architects, and MBAs leave the university grounded in a theoretical understanding of their discipline, but little practical experience with realities of the development process: the market and non-market dynamics, the multidisciplinary teams on which they will work, or skill in presenting to a real client. This educational “hole” makes graduates less effective development team members, policy makers, lenders or equity partners.

UrbanPlan at the University creates land use professionals – developers, planners, architects, investors, and policy makers – who are more sophisticated and effective when they enter the workforce.

The primary target is graduate students whose focus is land use: city and regional planning, MBA/real estate, and architecture. It can be effective in carefully selected fourth-year undergraduate classes. It is not designed for students whose professional focus does not relate to land use.

UrbanPlan moves students from a theoretical and ideological understanding of their discipline to the practical realities and demands of the development team and process. Download our UrbanPlan at the University fact sheet to learn more and hear what university professors have to say about UrbanPlan.