Urban Land Archives

In Part 2 of a multipart interview, architect Ben Wood explains how risk-taking around outdoor public space, adaptive reuse, and developer support helped make Shanghai’s Xintiandi a financially and culturally successful urban redevelopment.

In Part 1 of a three-part interview, the architect behind Shanghai’s Xintiandi reflects on his unconventional path and how preserving historic shikumen reshaped urban redevelopment in China.

In Part 3 of a three-part interview, the veteran architect reflects on construction, creativity, and why experiencing great cities matters more than relying on technology.

Amid a variety of forces—geopolitical, economic, and organizational—requiring a recalibration of terminology and workforce management approaches, the commercial real estate industry shows signs that it is continuing to invest in strategies to foster belonging and inclusion. This is one of the key findings from the recently released Global Real Estate Workforce Survey (Volume IV), which offers a timely overview of how firms are managing the ongoing challenges.

As federal and state leaders renegotiate the Colorado River’s operating rules amid long-term water shortages, the outcomes could reshape development patterns, water policy, and real estate investment across the American West.

Developers are using sustainable transportation, transit-oriented development, and mobility amenities to increase real estate value, reduce parking demand, and strengthen long-term resilience.

Redevelopment and one family’s fight reshaped a city.

From Minnesota to New Orleans, the Institute’s Real Estate Diversity Initiative is building a more inclusive pipeline of developers through hands-on training, mentorship, and community-based partnerships.

U.S. House and Senate housing bills now moving toward reconciliation would reshape federal policies that affect housing supply, finance, zoning incentives, and development feasibility across markets.

As borrowers exhaust extension options, assets move toward refinancing, restructuring, or forced sale.

A veteran planning leader reflects on partnership, mentorship, and the practical work of shaping resilient cities across the country.

From site surveying to maintenance, drones, robo-dogs, and other smart, mobile machines are beginning to change the way the world builds.

Shenzhen’s Nantou Ancient City project represents a groundbreaking approach to revitalizing China’s historic urban villages in a way that preserves their cultural heritage and community fabric. After China’s government designated Shenzhen as a Special Economic Zone in 1980, the city’s more than 400 urban villages grew rapidly to provide informal housing for an influx of migrant workers. The result: high-density residential areas that maximized rental income but often compromised on fire safety and hygiene standards.

Bridge the gap between vision and action with key insights on funding and policy for resilient stormwater infrastructure.

McCoy, a pioneering investment banker and widely respected real estate counselor, died on January 25, 2026, at age 88.

Engaging artists in real estate development can be tricky, however. Artists and developers often speak different “languages,” but both must be understood and respected, and any gap between them must be bridged. With support from former ULI Global Governing Trustee Michael Spies, ULI’s Art in Place project identified the following best practices for effective artist/developer collaboration by drawing on focus groups, interviews, and other sources.

Juanita Hardy’s role as a champion of art and culture traces back three decades to her days as an IBM executive. Four years ago, she was recognized as an art advocate and collector by The Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C. Her business acumen and penchant for real estate development led her to the Urban Land Institute a decade ago. As vice chair of its Placemaking Council, she advocates for best practices that aid in creating inclusive, sustainable communities.

Now a partner at Lexicon Strategies, Benjamin has spent over two decades at the intersection of land-use policy, infrastructure, large-scale redevelopment, and affordable housing. Her leadership experience includes serving as CEO of Atlanta Habitat for Humanity, chairing ULI Atlanta, and working within the mayor’s office.

Whereas new construction offers a blank canvas for future-proof design, the vast majority of our parking inventory consists of existing facilities. Retrofitting these structures for the future presents unique challenges, yet they are far from insurmountable. The key lies in a strategic, phased approach that shrewdly prioritizes the most impactful upgrades, thus ensuring relevance without reinvention.

Durkin joins ULI from BlackRock senior leadership, where he held the position of global head of real estate research and strategy. His appointment as CEO Europe marks a continuation of the Institute’s mission and momentum, reinforcing its focus on member value, decision-making relevance, and long-term impact across the built environment at a time of significant change for the industry in Europe and globally.

ULI Europe publishes new guide on asset-level collaboration to accelerate decarbonization of occupied buildings

How Urban Land chronicled real estate’s boom-and-bust cycles from the 1970s through the 1980s—tracking inflation, energy shocks, technology shifts, and overbuilding as they reshaped cities and markets.

Urban Land magazine began in July 1941, as a typewritten “news bulletin” to ULI members “that will come to you from time to time to keep you informed of items which, we believe, will be of interest to you in connection with the Urban Land Institute program.”

During a Women’s Leadership Initiative program hosted by ULI Washington, artists, developers, and cultural leaders made the case that art embedded early—and paid for fairly—is essential to community identity, economic value, and long-term resilience

Nine federal properties across the Southeast are under review as policymakers weigh consolidation, disposal, and adaptive reuse strategies to reduce costs and return underused buildings to local communities.

Newly constructed libraries serve as “third spaces” and offer connectivity and multimedia in addition to community resources.

As demand has surged, regulators target traditional facilities, with new models emerging to make storage nearly invisible

In November 2024, ULI’s Advisory Services program partnered with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Buffalo Branch, the Buffalo Urban League, and local civic leaders to support the revitalization of Buffalo’s historic Jefferson Avenue Corridor.

In the Belgian municipality of Edegem, a 20-minute bike ride from Antwerp’s city center, a camera film roll packing plant has become Minerve, a biodiverse, sustainable mixed-use residential and commercial neighborhood.

How Hong Kong leverages transit and housing to create a master class in healthy, equitable urban density.

In 2022, Philadelphia-based development firm Post Brothers bought two office buildings on Connecticut Avenue in Washington, D.C., with plans to convert them into approximately 530 residential units. Despite the site’s proximity to Dupont Circle and a coveted residential area, assembling a viable capital stack proved more challenging than anticipated. Ultimately, a $465 million Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy loan from Nuveen Green Capital in December of 2025—billed as the largest ever originated under the program—made the conversion possible.

ULI spoke with Craig Lewis, placemaking practice group manager at Arcadis, about how prioritizing cognitive engagement in urban design can help create healthier, happier cities that promote connection and community.

For almost 200 years, the Warsaw Citadel in the heart of Poland’s capital was a restricted military and administrative area, cut off from public access. With the recent opening of the Polish History Museum, as well as the new Polish Army Museum, the 19th-century fortress’s 74-acre (30 ha) grounds now serve as a multifunctional facility and park that both preserves and showcases the country’s rich cultural heritage.

It’s not as if the old two-story building at the corner of 12th and Remington Court, in Seattle’s First Hill neighborhood, was ever particularly remarkable. Even in its original incarnation, it was a straightforward, utilitarian, mixed-use structure—competently built but not especially well-proportioned or ornately detailed.

ULI Advisory Services Panels bring together leading experts to help communities navigate their most pressing land use and development challenges. What happens after the recommendations are delivered, though? One year on, we checked back with this community in Fort Worth, Texas, to see how panel insights have turned into action and how ULI’s work is helping to shape meaningful, lasting progress.

National Harbor, Maryland, would become the second U.S. location and the first to utilize a smaller-scale venue design model; the project would receive approximately $200 million in state, local, and private incentives.

Navigating the 2026 Build: Why developers are gaining leverage with contractors even as copper prices and skilled labor scarcity remain structural hurdles

Established in 1914, the Cleveland Foundation is a community-oriented, philanthropic organization dedicated to investing in worthy individuals and nonprofit organizations in greater Cleveland, Ohio. With the lease running out on its existing headquarters in the city’s Playhouse Square district, the foundation decided to build its own headquarters, but in an intentional way that would spur economic development in one of the city’s neglected pockets.

Five new case studies that meet the criteria have been selected as the Terwilliger Center’s 2025 award winners: Market Street Village in San Diego, Sendero Verde in New York City, The Aster in Salt Lake City, The Kelsey Ayer Station in San José, and The Wilder in Nashville. Each of them offers an important, in-depth look at the financing structures, development strategies, community partnerships, and public policies that make such ambitious projects viable.

The Next Gen Fan Experience: Immersive Spaces and Stunning Views at the Future Commanders Stadium

Urban Land sat down with ULI Visionary Jonathan Rose during the Institute’s Fall Meeting in San Francisco to learn more about his four-decade ULI membership and the work that lies ahead.

Moving beyond flat-pad suburbs, Terraine embraces Utah’s foothills with contour-responsive homes and mining-town architecture.

Australia’s population is projected to grow from 27 million to 31.3 million by 2035. At the same time, the number of Australians age 75 or older will surge from 2.1 million to 3.2 million, heightening demand for age-friendly and accessible homes and neighborhoods. The 2025 ULI Australia Conference was set against this demographic backdrop.

A recent project in Seattle—Africatown Plaza—demonstrates the alchemy of community collaboration and a development team’s commitment to creating a neighborhood that can thrive. Much can be learned from how the team prioritized people in the process to make a people-centered place.this process

Infrastructure Ontario’s Provincial Affordable Housing Lands Program aims to create a mix of market-rate housing and permanent, sustainable, affordable housing on surplus land in greater Toronto. For its first effort, the agency chose Dream Asset Management, Kilmer Group, and Tricon Residential to develop a mixed-use community with 2,500 apartments on a former brownfield industrial site.

FORUM, a life sciences building developed by Lendlease, is the first purpose-built life sciences building in Boston Landing, a mixed-use district in the city’s Allston-Brighton neighborhood. Targeting LEED Platinum, the recently opened building employs numerous strategies that enable companies to meet stringent regulatory requirements, reduce their carbon footprint, and achieve net zero operations.

In late 2025, the ULI Randall Lewis Center for Sustainability in Real Estate convened a series of roundtables with sustainability leaders to explore the industry’s perspective on top global priorities in 2026. Roundtables consisted of members of the ULI Americas Sustainable Development Council, the ULI Asia Pacific Net Zero Council, the ULI Europe Sustainability Council, and sustainability-oriented committees of District Councils from ULI San Francisco, ULI New York, ULI Los Angeles, ULI Singapore, and ULI Philadelphia.

The ULI Americas District Council Showcase of Excellence Awards celebrates achievement by District Councils as it relates to ULI’s mission and primary areas of focus, with particular attention given to programs that are both innovative in their format or approach to the subject matter and replicable at other District Councils. The ULI Americas region’s 58 District Councils submit the best of more than 2,000 programs held each year, with awards given, in each category, for District Councils with fewer than 600 members, and for District Councils with more than 600 members.

Steps from the Place de l’Europe in Paris, the French real estate company Covivio has recast a historic telephone exchange as its headquarters. Dubbed “L’Atelier,” the complex showcases the firm’s expertise, values, and culture; houses 250 Paris employees; and supports the company’s three business lines: office, hotel, and residential.

Jeff Speck and I first met in 2004. I had just been elected mayor of Oklahoma City, and I was invited to Charleston for an event hosted by the Mayors’ Institute on City Design. Jeff was one of the design professionals lending expertise to mayors facing complex planning issues.