Global Exchange Fellowship (United States)

This new nine-month fellowship will invest in 40 rising leaders across design, development, policy, advocacy and journalism to build bridges between New York City and its peer cities, uncover cutting-edge projects, and demand courageous public policy. Fellows will engage with leading global experts, travel to a peer city to study alternative approaches, publish insights, and meet with local decision-makers to champion reform.

New York needs to search the world for solutions to its most intractable problems, beginning with the housing crisis. The city’s dire shortage has resulted in skyrocketing rents, displacement, gentrification, and a steep rise in tenant harassment and homelessness. Approximately 3 million New York households are living in housing insecurity as of 2022 — lacking safe, stable, adequate and affordable housing.

The Global Exchange fellowship seeks to build solidarity between leaders in New York and other cities taking “big swings” at their housing crises. Through exploring the cultures and political shifts behind housing changes around the world, they will energize and equip decision-makers to better advocate for reform. The goal is to complement the diligent work of local leaders, weave together diverse perspectives, and support a new generation of leaders to house every New Yorker.

Structure

• The 40 Global Fellows will lead comparative research through a nine-month, 120-hour leadership development program, grounded in an experiential learning approach. Fellows will drive conversation with leading experts from Tokyo to Helsinki, and deepen their understanding of the issues and players shaping the global housing debate.
• Learning Days
  • Global Fellows will form working groups based on their interest and expertise. Working groups will collaboratively investigate creative projects and policy initiatives from around the world. Each group will organize an experiential Learning Day, an immersive workshop for the entire cohort examining one critical issue facing New York City and connecting fellows to international leaders to share global insights.
• Study Trip to Berlin
  • A 3-day study trip will challenge Fellows to dive deep into this alternative housing market through site visits, presentations, and working sessions. Few European cities have been as impacted by the housing crisis as Berlin, which has adopted radical measures to ease affordability, create new supply, decarbonize its housing stock and integrate migrants.
• Public Programs
  • A major speaker series will provide a venue for international leaders to share global precedents to their broader membership, followed by private dinners for Fellows and key patrons. Invited speakers will join Fellow programming to expand on ideas from their home city and engage directly with Fellows.
• Outputs
  • Fellows will publish their findings and share them with key elected officials and agency leaders. An embedded journalist will elevate findings throughout the year to a broader public audience. They will also support Fellows to write op-eds, make presentations and participate in housing conferences to share insights with new audiences.

Funding Information

• Tuition for the Fellowship is $5,100, which covers the cost of 120 hours of facilitated training and bespoke programming with leading global thinkers. The additional costs of travel and accommodation for the study trip are assumed by the participants.
• Scholarships will be made available to help cover the cost of participation for those who indicate need-based consideration, ranging between $500 and the full tuition amount of $5,100.
• They also offer customizable payment plans.

Who Should Apply?

• Interests & Experience
  • Global Fellows are mid-career professionals in or entering executive leadership within their firms, with 10 to 20 years of experience. Fellows are seeking opportunities to develop their leadership, knowledge insights, and networks through cutting-edge comparative research and interface with a broad range of housing stakeholders.
  • This year, they welcome candidates with deep interest in the intersections of housing and design, construction, development, advocacy, law or public policy. They invite those welcome candidates whose work and research engages local issues in New York City, or housing in cities around the world.
• Time Commitment
  • Global Exchange is a time-intensive, experiential leadership program that relies on the active participation of every member of the cohort. In addition to attendance at all program dates, Fellows should expect to commit four hours per week throughout the Fellowship.
• Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
  • Urban Design Forum seeks to promote the achievements of traditionally underrepresented groups in planning and design. Women and gender-expansive people, people of color, LGBTQIA2S+ people, people with disabilities, and professionals with experience in diverse community settings are strongly encouraged to apply.
• Residency
  • Fellows must live or work in the five boroughs of New York City for the duration of the fellowship to be considered. Attendance is expected at all in-person sessions.

For more information, visit Urban Design Forum.