What is an Urban Expedition?
Have you heard about TLA’s newest adventures… they’re called Urban Expeditions. “Urban, what?” we hear you say… here is our explainer.
Urban Expeditions describe 1-day or multi-day overnight courses that take place in an urban environment and incorporate travel by foot and public transportation to explore elements of the city. Exploring sides of the city that are often overlooked, they teach groups how to navigate the city while providing challenges focused on team building and cultural experiences. Participants explore the rich cultural, historical, and natural environment of whatever city they’re in.
An expedition is the same whether it’s in a wilderness context or an urban one. The definition doesn’t exclude any environment. We are actually given more to work with when put into an urban context.
Urban Expeditions have similar goals to traditional wilderness expeditions with the obvious difference that they take place in the city. Like wilderness trips, participants are taken to environments with which they are less familiar. Participants are challenged to step out of their “comfort zones” and to take risks: interviewing strangers, organizing meals, trying new activities and foods, and engaging with diverse peoples.
There is great educational value that can be drawn from an Urban Expedition, especially for students in big urban metropolises. They offer opportunities for students to exercise leadership, group interaction and perseverance, solving realistic problems all in an imposing city environment.
Through the lens of an urban expedition students can not only see their city in a new light but also help them understand themselves better. Through an expedition we can focus into key learning subjects like community, service, and action.
