Recent Articles

• Soundstage Design Is Getting Modern and Vertical in New Streaming Era

  September 29, 2023

  Hollywood and the film industry has changed dramatically over the last several decades, especially in recent years with the rise of streaming networks.

• Remembering ULI Life Trustee Wayne Ratkovich

  September 28, 2023

  ULI is deeply saddened at the passing of visionary Los Angeles developer and ULI Life Trustee Wayne Ratkovich at the age of 82. In 1977, he founded The Ratkovich Company, a development firm specializing in urban infill and adaptive reuse projects.

• ULI Houston Illuminates Neighborhood Struggle and Potential

  September 28, 2023

  Settegast, a neighborhood in Northeast Houston, is home to a resilient and tight-knit community that has mobilized in response to decades of discriminatory practices and under-resourcing. As a result of systematic neglect, Settegast residents face challenges such as displacement, gentrification, and most notably, poorer health outcomes, including the lowest life expectancy rate in Harris County. To find solutions, ULI Houston partnered with Harris County Public Health, the Houston Land Bank, the Kinder Institute for Urban Research, and convened community residents and real estate leaders to build trust and chart a more equitable future for the neighborhood.   

• ULI Toronto: Learning from the Past to Create a Brighter Future in Mount Dennis  

  September 27, 2023

  Over the past 18 months, ULI Toronto and partners forged an understanding of the trends, pressures, and challenges experienced by Toronto’s Black population to shine a light on how history is shaping the present. The team documented Black displacement and Black settlement patterns in the Toronto area, focusing on the Mount Dennis neighborhood, which has faced disinvestment.  The perspectives and priorities of Mount Dennis residents were gathered to inform development priorities and future projects.  

• ULI Northwest Outlines Pathways for Community Healing and Well-being 

  September 27, 2023

  Sites in Portland, Oregon, and Seattle, Washington, are home to a painful and complicated history that many neighborhoods in rapidly growing regions are familiar with. To combat the region’s history of racially biased land use and transportation decisions, ULI Northwest joined forces with local leaders to reimagine two sites: one in Tukwila, near Seattle, and the other on the edge of Portland, Oregon.

• ULI British Columbia Collaborates with Indigenous Populations to Overcome Housing Barriers  

  September 27, 2023

  As a result of discrimination, indigenous populations in British Columbia are facing inequitable access to stable housing. Barriers to housing have led to displacement and a lack of housing opportunities for these groups.  To find solutions, ULI British Columbia collaborated with Indigenous businesses, including contractors and developers, to create more housing for Indigenous people. Additionally, ULI British Columbia developed a Health Equity Resource Hub to share tools and best practices and encourage thought leadership and innovation for Indigenous partnerships in housing. 

• ULI Tampa Bay: Expanding the Canvas for Inclusive Real Estate Transformation

  September 26, 2023

  ULI Tampa Bay has proudly secured its position as the latest addition to the global cohort of ULI national and district councils participating in Art in Place, an 18-month ULI program designed to bridge the gap between artists, developers, and local communities

• UL10: Geothermal Energy

  September 25, 2023

  Ten developments take advantage of the environmental and operational benefits of geothermal energy.

• How is the real estate sector building towards net zero?

  September 22, 2023

  As part of HSBC’s Transition Pathways series, they asked over 300 real estate developers and investors globally about how they are reducing emissions, what is accelerating their decarbonisation, and where they are investing. Explore the findings.

• Caoyang Park: Creating a World-Class Linear Park in Shanghai

  September 22, 2023

  A winner of the 2023 ULI Asia Pacific Excellence Award. Caoyang Park is located in a residential neighborhood in the Putuo District of Shanghai along what used to be a freight railway track that went into disuse and gradually transformed into a local farmers’ market. This nearly one-kilometer-long (0.62 miles) and 10 to 15-meter-wide (32.8-49.2 ft) strip of land now serves a fresh, innovative function. Following the market’s closure in 2019, this space has been reimagined into a vibrant, multi-tiered, mixed-use park with a strong emphasis on pedestrian accessibility and community engagement.

• Enter Generative AI: Emergence and Implications in Real Estate Capital Markets

  September 21, 2023

  Artificial Intelligence, or the general ability of computers to emulate human thought and learning processes and, ultimately, to perform tasks in real-world environments, has grown and evolved significantly in recent years. It’s an empirical fact: in 2022, the global AI market swelled to $136.55 billion, with projections hinting at a surge of $1.8 trillion to $2.6 trillion within the next 10 years.

• Expressive Architecture and the Aesthetics of Meaning in Los Angeles

  September 18, 2023

  Architecture can’t be art. It has a different role in society. But architecture should embrace the call of art, especially public architecture. It should take seriously the task to stand for something, and that something is not the personal philosophical whims of the architect. Rather it is the inherent spirit and character of the community in which it resides. Two Perkins&Will projects highlight this in Los Angeles.
  

• New Report from ULI and Heitman Equips Real Estate Investors with Insights on Climate Risk Disclosure Data

  September 18, 2023

  ULI and Heitman released a report today highlighting how investors may leverage the data resulting from government regulations that require real estate companies to disclose climate-related risks related to their properties and overall business models.

• Proactive Sustainability

  September 18, 2023

  By making investments in needed improvements now, the commercial real estate industry could alter the course of climate change.

• ULI Net Zero Imperative: Empowering Cities to Accelerate Decarbonization

  September 18, 2023

  To date, the Net Zero Imperative has funded over a dozen technical assistance panels, ranging in topics from multifamily electrification to net zero new construction incentives, from ClimateTech innovations to tenant engagement for whole-building decarbonization. Localities are eager to move forward and accelerate the built environment’s journey to zero.

• In Brief: 23 Billion-Dollar U.S. Disasters and Counting in 2023

  September 13, 2023

  According to the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, there have been 23 confirmed weather/climate disaster events with losses exceeding $1 billion each to affect United States in 2023.

• Affordability and Accessibility: From Bad to Worse in a Tight U.S. Housing Market

  September 11, 2023

  Many Americans are considered severely rent-burdened, as they spend more than 50 percent of their earnings on housing. For people with disabilities and the elderly, there is a triple whammy—prices are soaring, their incomes are not keeping pace, and only a fraction of housing is built to accommodate those with limited mobility.

• Past Meets Progress: Indigo’s Innovative Take on the Future of Community Building

  September 11, 2023

  Just outside of Houston, a development of the future is emerging—but it is probably not what you think. Instead of flying cars and sky-scraping utopias, this version of Tomorrowland has its roots firmly and sustainably planted in days gone by. With phase one currently under construction and new model homes, shops, and an urban farm set to open in early 2024, Indigo will feature a connected village of retail, small businesses, residential living, and outdoor spaces, with a 12-acre (4.85 ha) town center that draws inspiration from traditional Main Streets where buildings are at a human-scale and encourage interaction.

• ULI Hines Student Competition Americas Winner

  September 5, 2023

  “Knot Charleston,” the development plan that earned top honors in this year’s ULI Hines Student Competition for the Americas region, was the product of extensive research, thoughtful design, and close collaboration among the winning team of five Harvard University graduate students.

• The Hopeful Potential of Los Angeles’ Public Realm

  September 5, 2023

  Any native Angeleno who has walked even a few blocks Downtown can attest to the state of our sidewalks. If we do not invest in the public realm—in our streets, sidewalks, plazas, and parks—then we leave on the table the vital seeds of who it is we can become as a people and as a city.