Secondary schools from across Ireland are being urged to participate in a free one-day workshop in urban planning by industry experts as part of the Urban Land Institute's UrbanPlan 2017 programme.

The programme, in its second year, targets 16 and 17 year olds from ten schools selected to take part in a one-day interactive workshop in each school.

With the support of industry volunteers, student teams will be presented with an urban regeneration challenge to help them understand the planning and development process for buildings, towns and parks.

The workshops bring the built environment to life by challenging students to plan the regeneration of a blighted site in a hypothetical town. At the end of the programme, students present their development proposals to a team of expert volunteers, who choose a winner in each school.

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John Bruder, Chairman of the Urban Land Institute, said: "Following the success of last year we're delighted to invite secondary schools to apply for UrbanPlan 2017. UrbanPlan is about creating more informed citizens who better understand the communities in which they live and how they come to be.

"We want to encourage young people from diverse social and economic backgrounds, both girls and boys, to consider careers in the many disciplines which contribute to the development of vibrant, sustainable urban communities. We're particularly keen to see girls participate so that they might get a better understanding of some disciplines which traditionally have attracted more men than women.

"UrbanPlan can help enrich the school curriculum, particularly for Transition Year students who are starting to think about their future careers. Some participants of this year’s programme may be inspired to consider future careers in urban planning and design. The students of today will be the planners, builders and architects of the future."