The awards celebrate a senior leader, a young professional and a DEI champion

Private real estate owners and investors searching for clues on how tariffs are likely to affect commercial real estate are tuning in to what public REIT executives are saying. The word of the hour remains “uncertainty” as private and public real estate companies continue to watch and wait to see how the current administration’s trade policy and global tariffs continue to play out.

Five experts from ULI’s Residential Neighborhood Development Council discuss the challenges and opportunities ahead for homebuilders; what buyers and renters want from their neighborhoods, and how they value sustainability and resilience; what state and local housing policies are effectively encouraging housing construction; and other trends.

At the ULI Spring Meeting 2025 session “Mastering Innovation: Tech-Driven Transformation of Planned Communities,” two prominent community developers—Laura Cole, senior vice president at Lakewood Ranch, and Fred Balda, president of Hillwood Communities—discussed how digital tools and data are reshaping large-scale developments. Moderated by Cecilian Partners’ Philip Worland, the conversation highlighted the role of technology in revolutionizing both front-end and back-end operations in the master-planned community (MPC) sector.

Zed Smith is the chief operating officer for The Cordish Companies. In that capacity—now for almost a decade—Smith oversees all aspects of the company’s operating properties portfolio, which includes numerous high-profile entertainment, mixed-use, and sports-anchored developments located in urban communities nationwide. Many of those developments have been transformative, thanks to their economic and cultural impact.

At the 2025 ULI Asia Pacific Summit—May 26–29, in Hong Kong—a panel of Asian economic and geopolitical experts addressed one of today’s most immediate global concerns: the implications of U.S.–China economic decoupling and the broader geopolitical shifts reshaping global trade and investment.

At the 2025 ULI Spring Meeting, leaders from Oxland Group, Taylor Morrison, and Highland Homes convened for a panel titled “The New Builder/Developer Dynamic: Partnering for Success in a Shifting Market.” Tom Woliver, co-president and founder of Oxland Group, moderated the discussion with Erik Heuser, chief corporate operations officer for Taylor Morrison, and Jeff Stinson, senior vice president of Highland Homes.

Fourteen developments from across Asia have been named winners of the 2025 ULI Asia Pacific Awards for Excellence, one of the real estate industry’s most prestigious honors. Announced at the 2025 ULI Asia Pacific Summit held in May in Hong Kong, this year’s award winners include projects in Australia, Bangladesh, China, India, Japan, the Philippines, and Singapore.

As drones and electric flying vehicles mature, China imagines a new urban landscape

A shuttered higher-education campus receives new life as housing for older adults while providing significant benefits to the surrounding community