ULI Nashville’s educational initiative UrbanPlan introduces the fundamentals of land development to high school students, college/university students, community organizations, and municipal professionals via a real-world simulation. Guided by a trained facilitator, participants engage the land use decision-making process by acting as competing “development firms” during a collaborative workshop.

Throughout the process, ULI Nashville’s industry professional member volunteers act as various community stakeholders and a city council with desires and opinions about land use that the mock development firms must take under consideration.

The multi-layered exercise begins with responding to an RFP and culminates with the winning team receiving the contract. UrbanPlan teaches participants the land development process while encouraging:

• Critical thinking about land use and its effect on communities
• Understanding the various components of urban development, including the roles of the decision-makers
• Working collaboratively with multiple stakeholders in developing equitable communities
• Acquisition of the knowledge necessary to take ownership in the built environment of their communities
• Understanding of the multitude of professions that comprise the land development industry

With UrbanPlan, ULI Nashville is forging a foundational initiative that engages students, community members, civic leaders, and industry experts in efforts to nurture the next generation of diverse land development professionals while providing the Nashville community with the foundational knowledge for effectively engaging in the creation of built environments that equitably serve all stakeholders.

For information on how to support UrbanPlan, please contact ULI Nashville Senior Associate, Madison Allen at [email protected].

UrbanPlan Sponsors

Thank you to the Turner Construction Company Foundation for grant funding.