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.
The winner of the pilot session with the University of Tsukuba students.
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.
This global initiative includes a simulation classroom exercise in which students work in development teams to analyze and respond to a hypothetical “Request for Proposal” for the redevelopment of a blighted urban area. The ULI UrbanPlan Regional Director trains teachers to lead the course and travels to National Councils to train volunteers who participate in the classroom.
“UrbanPlan being an US-based program, it not only provides understanding of urban development but also highlights intriguing cultural differences. We look forward to developing the program further to offer another option strictly focused on the urban planning process in the local market in the near future.”
Gordon Hatton
UrbanPlan Japan Chair; Vice President, Head of Development and Delivery (Japan), Colt Data Centre Service
UrbanPlan in Japan
In February 2019, the first volunteer training session was held in Tokyo with 16 participants. The 15-hour curriculum was condensed into a 7-hour program for the session, challenging experienced real estate professionals and both under-grad and graduate students in urban development to think critically and conduct highly-demanding team efforts in a short period of time.
In June 2019, the trained volunteers and several other new members visited the University of Tsukuba to hold a pilot session with a group of their students. The students experienced the 7-hour version of the program while the volunteers received a further field training on the role of facilitators.
In 2021 during the pandemic, a 2-day online workshop was held for the students from the University of Tsukuba, Meiji University and Waseda University. The workshop, joined by the volunteer members from across Asia Pacific, provided the educational opportunity in an international atmosphere.
The UrbanPlan initiative in Japan focuses on working with university and high-school students with the scope of expanding the audience to local municipalities and public officials.
Be part of UrbanPlan
Volunteering
This opportunity is available exclusively for ULI members. If you would like to join the next training session(TBD), please send a request to the ULI Japan office so that you are added to the communication loop.
Partnership
Whether you are a faculty member at a school or a member of a public institution, if you are interested in experiencing the program, please contact the ULI Japan office. Though workshops can be held bilingually, the materials are currently only available in English.
Donations
With the financial support of the Annual Fund and the members, ULI underwrites UrbanPlan at no cost to school systems. Through the ULI Annual Fund website you are able to designate your gifts for specific programs. If you wish to donate directly to ULI Japan, different payment options are available.
UrbanPlan Sponsor
UrbanPlan in Japan
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2nd pilot held with the University of Tsukuba students in June 2019
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Tiffany Lau, Executive Director of ULI Hong Kong and Martina Ing, ULI UrbanPlan Co-head Instructor (HK and AP) flew in from Hong Kong to lead this trainning.
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2nd pilot held with the University of Tsukuba students in June 2019
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Students present their mock company name and business plan.
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Working with lego blocks as undergrad students has never been so difficult…
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Volunteers and faculty ask questions to guide students through the thought process.
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2nd pilot held with the University of Tsukuba students in June 2019
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Students present their project proposal to the mock city council.
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2nd pilot held with the University of Tsukuba students in June 2019
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Congratulations to the winner of the pilot!
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2nd pilot held with the University of Tsukuba students in June 2019
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Smiles at the end of the day-long session.
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Students present their project proposal to the mock city council.
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Tsukuba students with Hidetoshi Ono, co-chair of UrbanPlan Japan after their speech.
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Tsukuba students giving a speech about their experience at the ULI Japan Fall Conference 2019.
