ULI New York proudly welcomes Baker Tilly as our inaugural UrbanPlan Sponsor

Baker Tilly’s passion and commitment to diversity, inclusion, and belonging in the workplace aligns with ULI’s own commitment to shape the built environment toward diverse, equitable, and inclusive communities. Our partnership with Baker Tilly enables ULI NY to continue leveraging the UrbanPlan program to introduce students of color to career opportunities in the commercial real estate industry, in support of ULI’s mission priority of developing the next generation of diverse industry leaders.

About UrbanPlan

UrbanPlan’s mission is to create a sophisticated level of discourse among local stakeholders involved in land use decisions through the education of tomorrow’s voters, neighbors, community leaders, public officials, and land use professionals so—together—we can create better communities.

What is UrbanPlan?

UrbanPlan is a realistic, engaging exercise in which participants—high school students, university students, or public officials—learn about the fundamental forces that affect real estate development in our communities. Participants experience the challenging issues, private and public sector roles, complex trade-offs, and fundamental economics in play when proposing realistic land use solutions to vexing growth challenges.

UrbanPlan has reached over 67,000 high school and university students in the United States & Canada since 2003.

• 35 ULI District Councils ran UrbanPlan programs in the 2021-22 academic year.
• UrbanPlan reached over 3,561 students in 159 classrooms at 74 high schools in the 2021-22 academic year.
• 35 universities ran UrbanPlan in graduate MBA, Real Estate, City & Regional Planning, and Architecture programs in the 2021-22 academic year.
• More members (2,500+ per year)–including trustees, governors, and product council members–participate in UrbanPlan than in any other national or local ULI program.
• Now in its sixth year, ULI members engaged 291 public sector decision makers representing over 200 jurisdictions through UrbanPlan.

UrbanPlan is implemented in three formats, for three unique audiences.

• High Schools: through a 15 class-hour project-based learning curriculum unit for high school juniors and seniors in economics and government classes. Student development teams respond to an RFP to redevelop a 5 ½ block site from a mythical city. Through the process, they discover the dynamic fundamental challenges of development – how the forces of our market economy clash and collaborate with the forces of our representative democracy to create the built environment.
• Universities: through a 12-15 class-hour project-based learning curriculum unit for undergraduate or graduate students typically in land use focused disciplines: urban planning, real estate, architecture, urban design, law, etc. Student development teams respond to an RFP to redevelop a 5 ½ block site from a mythical city. Through the process, they discover the dynamic fundamental challenges of development – how the forces of our market economy clash and collaborate with the forces of our representative democracy to create the built environment.
• Public Officials: through one-day, hands-on  workshops, which are ideal for local decision makers who would like to learn more about the fundamental forces that shape and affect the built environment and the important leadership roles that elected and appointed officials play in the real estate development process.

Why UrbanPlan?

Where and how will we live, work, shop, and commute impacts the character and vibrancy of our neighborhoods. Yet, our students are rarely educated about the interactions of local government with our market economy, and how these forces join to create the built environment — the foundation for any informed land use discussion. Our program provides our future leaders with the necessary skills and understanding to meet the challenges of accommodating growth and improving quality of life. That’s the power of UrbanPlan.

Interested in learning more about our UrbanPlan program? Contact Quincy Bair via e-mail at [email protected]