WASHINGTON (July 21, 2023) – The Urban Land Institute (ULI) today announced a team of five students from Mounds View High School in Arden Hills, Minn., has been selected as winners of the fourth-annual UrbanPlan National Student Competition and will receive a total prize of $5,000. The winning team beat four other high school teams from across the United States, with ‘lolani School receiving second place and Berkeley High School receiving third place.

UrbanPlan is a realistic, engaging exercise in which participants—high school students, university students, or public officials—learn the fundamental forces that affect development in our communities. Participants experience 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. To learn more about UrbanPlan, click here.

“All competing teams put together incredible presentations showcasing the creativity and collaboration of the participating students,” said Cindy Chance, Executive Vice President, ULI Learning and Product Councils at ULI. “Generously supported by member gifts to the ULI Foundation and offered through ULI’s district and national councils, UrbanPlan has reached  65,000 students and public officials globally. I want to thank our ULI district councils, UrbanPlan volunteers, and student participants and their teachers for making this year’s competition such a success.”

The students were tasked with redeveloping six blocks in the fictional city of Elmwood. The students’ fictional real estate companies must balance historical preservation, dereliction, and competing neighborhood priorities, along with financial constraints to meet the needs of the city. Having all completed UrbanPlan during their academic year, the competition is an opportunity to engage with the program for a second time. This year, the competition included an addendum to the RFP (Request for Proposals) with a unique set of parameters designed by dedicated UrbanPlan volunteer Brooks Powell from DLR group in Dallas, TX. To learn more about this year’s competition, click here.

The competition involved 30 students comprising five teams from four high schools around the United States: BASADI from Berkeley High School in Berkeley, Calif.; Brooklyn Vista Development from Brooklyn Technical High School in Brooklyn, N.Y.; E. Foresight from The Iolani School in Honolulu, Hawaii; Green Pyramid and Generation Green from Mounds View High School in Arden Hills, Minn.

Green Pyramid’s team, comprised of Alicia Liu, Jaiesh Natamai, John Liu, Nadyne Sattar, and Josiah Chan, designed a neighborhood centered around the values of strong community bonds, sustainability, and resilience. The team chose to utilize its park space for gardens, gazebos, food trucks, and community activities.

“I’m so proud of the Green Pyramid team,” said Martha Rush, the teacher mentor for the winning team from Minnesota. “They were dedicated to the project from Day One, and it was really satisfying, as a teacher, to see them so engaged in a project at the end of the year. This is a learning experience they will remember forever.”

For more information, contact [email protected].

The Urban Land Institute is a nonprofit education and research institute supported by its members. Its mission is to shape the future of the built environment for transformative impact in communities worldwide. Established in 1936, the institute has more than 46,000 members worldwide representing all aspects of land use and development disciplines. For more information on ULI, please visit uli.org  or follow us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram.