Field Studies in Real Estate, Planning, and Urban Design: Buenos Aires, Los Angeles, and Andover, MA

The Field Study course is designed to provide students 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 development aspects of projects that respond to realistic market demand, political, financial and other regulatory constraints – how financial implications affect planning and design and vice versa.  The course is intended for real estate professionals, architects, urban/landscape designers and planners, to broaden their understanding of urban development issues and public-private development problems, as well as to improve their skills in design and financial analysis.  This year there will be three field studies: Buenos Aires, Los Angeles, and Andover, MA. Students will have extensive interaction with local officials and developers in all cities.

In Buenos Aires, students will work on the planning and development of the 22 hectare Innovation Park site on the former Tiro Federal Argentino Shooting Club grounds.   In Los Angeles, 4 students will work on affordable housing development opportunities in Orange County for cities ranging from Santa Ana to Costa Mesa.  In Andover, MA, students will work on the 169 acre North Andover site that was formerly Lucent and Bell telephone property.  The city recently turned down a proposal for a 1.1 million square foot marijuana plant there.  In all field studies, students will have extensive interaction with local officials and developers as well as real estate and design professionals and neighborhood representatives. 

Note, 14 students will be selected to participate in the Buenos Aires trip and in the Los Angeles trip via the limited enrollment course lottery and a subsequent lottery will be run the first day of classes to determine which students will participate in which traveling site. Other enrolled students will participate in the Andover field study. Students traveling to Buenos Aires Los Angeles will be term billed $300 and $200 respectively, and are responsible for the cost of all meals and incidentals related to the trip, including visas and any change fees related to modifications to set flight itinerary. Students participating in a traveling option studio or other course trip are not eligible for either traveling field studies sites. Those selected in the limited enrollment course lottery will lose their places in the Buenos Aires and Los Angeles trips if they fail to show up at the first class.  Everyone who is interested these field study locations, especially those with close waitlist numbers, should attend. The Buenos Aires site visit will take place October 1-5 and the Los Angeles site visit will take place October 17-21.