A team of five students from Berkeley High School is runner-up in the third-annual UrbanPlan National Student Competition. First place was awarded to students from Iolani High School of Honolulu, Hawaii.

The students were tasked with redeveloping six blocks in the fictional city of Elmwood. The student’s fictional companies must balance historical preservation, dereliction, and competing neighborhood priorities, along with financial constraints to meet the needs of the city. The students had all previously completed UrbanPlan during their academic year, so the competition is an opportunity to engage with the program for a second time. As a result, the competition includes an addendum to the RFP (Request for Proposal) with a unique new set of parameters. This year, the students were tasked to provide a summary of social services or other creative solutions to provide support to those experiencing short-term homelessness and permanent housing solutions for homeless individuals. The students provided thoughtful responses to the RFP Addendum and explored how developers and cities can provide more housing for those experiencing homelessness.

The competition involved over 45 students comprising nine teams from eight high schools around the United States: Berkeley High School, Berkeley, California; Brooklyn Technical High School, Brooklyn, New York; Eastside College Preparatory School, East Palo Alto, California; High School for Arts & Design, New York, New York; Iolani High School, Honolulu, Hawaii; Jurupa Hills High School, Fontana, California; Kalani High School, Honolulu, Hawaii; Mounds View High School, Arden Hills, Minnesota. Team Quilt Co. of Iolani High School, Honolulu, Hawaii, won the competition and took home $5,000 in prize money. Team Beacon of Berkeley High School placed second and Team JHM Developers of Mounds View High School placed third.

Great job to both of our local Bay Area teams, Berkeley High School and Eastside College Preparatory School in East Palo Alto, and congratulations to Team Quilt Co!