In a previous post, I explained how built environment innovations, large or small, start with an expressed requirement. For example, the requirement expressed in this academic-year’s Request for Proposal (RFP) to the students in Hoover High School’s ACE Mentor Program club is for a “Smart-Growth” themed project in their neighborhood. In this project based learning styled program, the RFP from ACE is prepared as an educational resource. Its content helps introduce students to the requirement and establish goals the students will achieve this year with mentorship from built environment professionals.
The 2016-2017 RFP helped explain to students what “Smart-Growth” property development theory is, what its core principles include, and how it can add value to communities of various scales and sizes. To answer the driving question in the RFP about what smart growth means to these students and their community, the students identify and assess the viability of project concept alternatives. For example, an alternative the students are currently considering is repurposing a vacant building. As a culminating challenge, the students will present their smart growth project through deliverables such as architecture, engineering, and construction project boards. Consider supporting project based learning experiences for students interested in built environment careers by donating to the ACE Mentor program.