As an UrbanPlan volunteer, you can make an impact in your community and the next generation of citizens by sharing your knowledge. This is also an opportunity to connect with fellow ULI members and land use experts. Even one hour of your volunteer time makes a meaningful difference!
With the help of volunteers, UrbanPlan harnesses the power of experiential learning to demystify land-use dynamics and the complexities of real estate development.
Trained volunteers serve in classrooms and workshops as team advisors, facilitators or as members of a mock City Council for final presentations. Volunteers are tasked with challenging participants to think more critically about the UrbanPlan issues and the specific responsibilities of their roles.
UrbanPlan volunteers have reached over 53,000 high school and university students in the United States & Canada since 2003. You can become one by completing an interactive, on-demand online training!
Help teams translate their ideas into the pro-forma template (financial model), stay in their team roles, and stay within the UrbanPlan rules. Volunteers must be familiar with the UrbanPlan pro-forma template and adept at spreadsheets. Time commitment: 6 hours each workshop. (Community Group workshops only)
Meet, consult, and advise the teams two times during their working sessions. Volunteers must have real estate experience, be able to guide participants and give good advice. An effective facilitator has the patience to question rather than coach. Time commitment: 2 hours each workshop.
Serve on the mock City Council at the end of the day. By challenging the participants’ work as if in an actual City Council meeting, the volunteers assess whether the proposals are responsive to the RFP, grounded in the facts of the UrbanPlan case, and consistent with reality. The City Council then awards the contract to the winning team. Being on the mock City Council is a fun volunteer opportunity, especially for those who have sat on the other side of the table. Time commitment: 1-2 hours each workshop.
Contact ULI San Diego-Tijuana staff to become an UrbanPlan volunteer.