Kenyatta Washington

Kenyatta Washington, Urban Tech ’26, worked as a purchasing intern with Toll Brothers construction in Northville, Michigan, in summer 2025.

What motivated you to join the Urban Technology program?

I got into urban planning because, being from Detroit, I was interested in how people are affected by their environment. That got me into real estate, because we moved from Detroit into a more suburban area, and I wanted to figure out the difference between this urban space versus Detroit. Then I started thinking about the different implications in how urban systems are designed, which brought me to urban technology.

What were some of your experiences as an intern with Toll Brothers?

It was really good overall. It was very construction focused. There were some things that urban technology really didn’t focus on, but I also have a real estate background. Although there was a learning curve, a lot of the things I’ve learned within urban technology gave me inspiration to learn a little bit more about different industries, because you never know until you get into the industry.

How did you use your urban technology education in these projects?

Jermaine Ruffin’s class, Change-making in Cities, was probably the most prominent to me in terms of how I utilized those skills toward my internship because of the community engagement work, thinking of ways we can engage a community to alleviate different problems and then learn what they want. You’re not just thinking of market research and seeing if the numbers work, you’re also seeing what different amenities are needed within a specific area. For example, if a city like Northville, Michigan, wants more younger residents, we’re thinking of a broad spectrum of ways to bring everyone into the home buying process, without excluding anyone.

How has this internship helped you in your future career goals?

I learned a lot about coming into a community and actually redeveloping or developing something. You really have to focus on who’s already there. Although Toll Brothers is more of a luxury home builder, they’re thinking about these different complexities within a community and asking “How are we creating change and what type of impacts are we having?” It was a great experience to learn how we can create sustainability within a company, and then also within a community.

What would your ideal project be?

An ideal project for me would be to create a development that includes affordable housing with apartments as well as new construction, to still build that luxury brand and also create a structure where a lot of people can afford our homes.

— Interview by Joshua Nicholson