During the fall 2025 semester, Emily Linehan, a senior majoring in real estate and marketing, studied something she uses almost daily: the bus.
Linehan researched sustainable transportation in the City of Madison while enrolled in Real Estate 420/720: Urban and Regional Economics and presented her group’s findings during a poster session at the Wisconsin School of Business on Dec. 9.
“I thought the project was so interesting because the bus system is something I interact with every day, so it was really getting to apply everything we learned in class to something I generally care about and interact with every day,” Linehan said. “It’s not like doing a case study for another city that I’ll never see the effects of. These are real things that I can benefit from too if we can find a way to improve them.”
Linehan and her classmates analyzed how the city’s existing plans, including Imagine Madison and the 2024 Sustainability Plan, align with the growth, equity, and sustainability principles through the lens of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. They covered topics including missing middle housing, zero waste, renewable energy, mental health and substance misuse, and healthy ecosystems.
For the past five years, Professor Yongheng Deng, John P. Morgridge Distinguished Chair Professor in Business, has partnered with the City of Madison to provide a learning experience connected to sustainability. The effort is supported by UniverCity Alliance, which connects Wisconsin local governments with university resources.
Deng, who is also a member of UniverCity Alliance’s advisory board, said the experience gives students an “applied learning experience rooted in the community where they live and study.” It also provides insights to city staff, who have attended the poster session each year and presented to the class.
“The longevity of this initiative signals trust, continuity, and a shared commitment to advancing sustainable development, demonstrating how academic-community partnerships can generate sustained, real-world impact,” Deng said.
Deputy Mayor for Housing and Sustainability Christie Baumel attended the poster session and said she appreciated that Deng’s class incorporates so many factors that affect cities: quality of life, the environment and sustainability, and planning for growth.
“It’s so interlinked into our economy and our success in so many ways,” Baumel said. “I’m glad you all see that too and care about that and took this class.”
She also emphasized to the students that they are constituents of the City of Madison, and city leaders want to hear from them.
“It is very much part of our job to connect with and hear from the people who live here on how they experience things, what they think is important, and how they think we should move things forward,” Baumel said. “You play that role here today.”
‘Meaningful’ learning experiences
Heejin Yoon, a Ph.D. student at the Department of Real Estate and Urban Land Economics graduating in the spring, has supported the class as a teaching assistant and, for the past two years, as an instructor. He has observed that the students’ work has become more “polished” and connected to real policy discussions taking place in the City of Madison.
While the projects require more from students than a typical class project, Yoon said they find the work worthwhile.
“After completing the project, many students reflect that it was one of the most meaningful learning experiences of the course,” Yoon said. “Unlike memorizing concepts or solving mathematical problems, this type of work stays with them much longer.”
New this year, the course required students to interview experts outside of the class to inform their project ideas.
Performance Excellence Specialist Kara Kratowicz said this led to students surveying community members, discovering leading best practices from leaders in other cities, and learning from City of Madison subject matter experts.
“Five years into the poster sessions with Professor Deng’s students and we’re still learning more,” Kratowicz said. “Ripple effects were notable in the students’ storytelling at the event. They presented with great confidence in their ideas to improve Madison, especially when discussing how their recommendations were informed by their outreach.”
Theories and frameworks – in action
While city staff gain a different perspective on issues affecting Madison, students are practicing applying what they learn in a classroom to ongoing challenges. For Brody Guerro, a junior studying finance and real estate, this was the first time he engaged with this type of applied-learning project.
“This isn’t just a case study,” Guerro said. “It was actually getting hands-on experience.”
Engaging directly with the City of Madison’s plans allows students to see how the theories and frameworks – urban economics, sustainable development, and policy evaluation – that they learn in textbooks and lectures operate in practice.
Deng said integrating “real-world projects” into the classroom fosters critical thinking, collaboration, and a sense of social responsibility – core elements of the Wisconsin Idea – and prepares students to contribute meaningfully as future professionals and community leaders. Additionally, incorporating the global sustainability framework gives students a greater understanding of how economic, social, and environmental factors intersect.
“This applied analysis helps them move beyond abstract concepts to appreciate the complexities and trade-offs inherent in real-world planning and policy implementation,” Deng said.
This class was the first time Neil Patel, a graduate student majoring in real estate, encountered the global sustainability goals.
“To have the opportunity to look into those, tie them into Madison’s comprehensive plan and do some research into something that is practical is a privilege,” said Patel, who graduated in December. “We learned a lot.”
—Abigail Becker