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Season's Greetings from ULI Philadelphia
Here's to a healthy and happy holiday season!
In December 2021, ULI Philadelphia piloted their first UrbanPlan for high school program at Girard College. Girard College is a 5-day boarding school for students in grades 1-12 from families with limited financial resources and headed by a single parent or guardian. The school is located on a beautiful and historic 43-acre campus in the Fairmount neighborhood of Philadelphia. Much of the student’s curriculum is focused on project based learning, making UrbanPlan a perfect fit. The program was delivered in person to 18 seniors over 5 days through their social studies class. ULI member volunteers who are trained to help facilitate the program were extremely impressed by the students and all final presentations received high praise. The student participants also had very positive feedback about their experience, many mentioning it was one of the highlights of their year.
“One of our most significant tasks—and crucial ambitions—is ensuring students consistently develop their critical and conceptual thinking, creative problem solving, and collaborative skills in safe yet challenging spaces. In my experience, UrbanPlan proved uniquely suited for that task. Our students gained not only a greater understanding of the diverse public and private forces that shape their built environment, but a deeper appreciation of their place within that environment, and ultimately their power to shape it.” – Joshua Clough, Girard College teacher
“UrbanPlan was a project I will never forget. It was something new for me. It really challenged me and I haven’t really been challenged on an assignment in a long time. It really made me have to prioritize time management and try to work under pressure. I also had to learn how to not be in control of everything, something I’m not used to.” – Aaliyah, student
“I can honestly say that I learned a lot during this simulation. I learned how to work under pressure, work as a team, and I also learned about neighborhoods and the inner workings of developers. It was a good time to practice my time management skills as well because that’s what you’re going to need in the real world. This program should definitely be repeated next year because I think everybody should get the chance to be apart of something like this.” – Faith, student
ULI Philadelphia is extremely thankful to Girard’s Head of High School AJ Ernst, teacher Joshua Clough, our amazing UrbanPlan volunteers, and our UrbanPlan Committee for making it happen. We look forward to continuing this program annually with future students!
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