Field Studies in Real Estate, Urban Planning and Design

Field Studies in Real Estate, Urban Planning and Design: Redeveloping the town center of a historic New England Town and New Visions for redeveloping one of the largest shopping centers on the west coast – Ipswich, MA and Portland, OR.

The field study course is a 4 unit studio class that combines design and planning with housing, retail, and office development.  It provides students with an understanding of the dynamics and complexities of real-world development challenges that create contemporary urban physical environments. The course emphasizes the integration of design and financial feasibility with development aspects of projects that respond to realistic market demand and political, environmental, and other regulatory constraints—how financial implications affect planning and design, and vice versa. The course is intended for architects, urban planners, real estate students, urban designers, and landscape architects to broaden their understanding of urban development issues and public-private development implementation strategies, as well as to improve their skills in master planning, design and financial analysis.  Students will select one of two field studies: Master planning and development of affordable housing and retail for the town center of historic Ipswich, MA, and recreating the vitality of the 1.4 million square foot Lloyd Center in Portland, OR.  Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) will be a central theme of the class and ESG metrics as well as fiscal impact analysis will be applied to alternative design and development strategies.

Cost to students for local travel (Ipswich, MA) will be meals, and incidentals. Cost to students for travel to Portland, OR will be $200 (term-billed) plus meals and incidentals.