The Masters of Science in Real Estate Development (MSRED) degree program is a one-year, full-time, immersive learning environment for the technical training, intellectual advancement, and practical formation of the most accomplished and prepared professional for the real estate industry. The MSRED program is uniquely resourced to provide the various theoretical explorations and technical skills needed for the real estate sector, in addition to effective training in the synthesis of decision-making through development projects and pertinent industry case studies.

The conceptual construct of this amalgamated learning is immediately referenced to the fundamental theories of urban planning and architectural design at GSAPP. Instructors who practice at the top levels of their respective professions in New York City provide the necessary technical knowledge from various disciplines—such as finance, market analysis, construction methods, law, data science, and project management—to perform in the industry. The application of the theory and skills to resolving various real estate challenges and issues are given rich, complex, and exciting examples in New York that also connect and have implications globally.

Furthermore, with the growing entrepreneurial and technologically advanced environment of Columbia University, the program includes training and proficiency in real estate databases and the digital tools of analysis, with the opportunity to explore emerging applications being investigated in the Center for Urban Real Estate, the affiliated research laboratory. It is anticipated that within this rich, innovative environment, the program’s curriculum development will continue to produce further synthesized forms of teaching and research to produce the most effective, intellectually progressive, and multi-faceted real estate professional.

This joint studio between M.S. Real Estate Development and the architecture programs at GSAPP was grounded on the premise that a multidisciplinary approach to development will yield more inclusive and more imaginative cities. The future developer ߎ architect will not be restricted to one profession or the other, but will be non-binary. Interrogating traditional methods of decision-making and entering a realm of the arbitrage of economic value to community over production cost were fundamental to this studio. The studio began by exploring a selection of urban archi-types that generated questions of land use and zoning, contradictions in regulations, and opportunities for intervention. Students analyzed the former Public School 64, a storied East Village icon, through press articles, reports, interviews, and first-hand accounts. Focused on interactions between the human body and the urban body, the studio crossed lines of transportation, adaptation, and configuration to project a future reality of what it means to inhabit the city. Students were expected to respond to five pillars of development: equity, advocacy, adaptability, variability, sustainability. Additionally, the studio provided a foundational understanding of financial modeling and real estate pro forma.

Over the course of the 2023 spring semester, graduate students from the M.S. Real Estate Development, M.S. Urban Planning, M.S. Architecture and Urban Design and New York/Paris Program have worked in the interdisciplinary studio “Out for Delivery: Strategies for the Last Mile Delivery Crisis in New York City” to develop solutions to alleviate the impacts of the last mile delivery system on New York streets and communities. Our solutions are a reflection of our respective fields strengths and our semester-long collaborative effort to mitigate negative impacts directly related to the delivery system.

Our work focuses on creating system and site-specific solutions. The delivery system presents significant challenges for New York’s transportation system and streetscape. The final steps of the delivery system are embodied by our two sites of study. Our first site is located in Red Hook, Brooklyn, a hotspot for last mile distribution facilities. Our second site, located in Midtown Manhattan, illustrates the challenges of the last fifty feet of the delivery process as a package moves from a delivery truck to its recipients’ doorstep.

The capstone course synthesizes the learnt analytical, comparative and critical processes involved in real estate development projects, transactions and investments. It provides an opportunity for the student to demonstrate their understanding of the dynamics of real estate development, its capital requirements, and delivery procedures.