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ULI has selected architect Hans Papke as the recipient of the 2021–2022 Apgar Thought Leader Award, which recognizes the authors of outstanding written works for Urban Land.

To what extent will proposed replacement policies address current issues? Are there other policies and practices that should be looked at and can older policies be tailored to meet today’s challenges? The whole array of planning and development practices are being questioned, particularly as seen through the outcomes they’ve produced or, in the case of housing, not produced.

In May 2022, the Hayti Heritage Center of Durham, North Carolina, co-sponsored a ULI Advisory Services panel with the Institute’s Foundation. The goal of the panel was to identify opportunities for intentionally inclusive development.

To be successful and sustainable, fighting homelessness in Los Angeles requires crisis intervention on two fronts: First, we must build more permanent housing and much more of it needs to be affordable. Second, we must build more transitional shelter of every type—more quickly and much, much more affordably. But shelter is not enough.

Affordable housing in California has become increasingly difficult to develop in recent years in a state where there is a significant lack of it. Two developers speak to the barriers to development in Southern California.

Experts discuss the effectiveness of policies that are aimed at increasing energy performance in buildings; the challenges of measuring and reporting climate-related physical and transition risks; strategies for navigating the complexities and uncertainties of environmental, social, and governance investing; and related trends.

For decades after its construction in the 1960s, locals had a wry nickname for Boston City Hall Plaza—“the red tundra,” for its wide, treeless, wind-swept expanse of red brick. In the last decade, however, the plaza transformed into an inviting destination for all.

Energy performance requirements for federal buildings could propel change across the real estate industry. Because the federal government is the country’s largest owner and occupier of space, the rules will have a sizable impact.

ULI Foundation governor Ron Nahas and his wife, Mary, have donated $1 million to UrbanPlan, an interactive educational program that engages high school students, university students, and public officials in understanding the forces shaping real estate development.

For years, Canada has been an attractive place to invest in real estate, thanks to rising rents, valuations, and returns, as well as Canada’s stability and immigration trends. But as in the United States, the Canadian real estate industry was hit hard in 2022 by factors including inflation, resulting in significant disruption. Nevertheless, as in the United States, industry experts say the long-term picture remains positive due to strong fundamental underpinnings.

After nearly eight years, workers are returning to a former General Electric factory in Fort Wayne. A complex financial package helped create a new home for one of Indiana’s largest employers at this postindustrial site in the U.S. Midwest.

A ULI webinar in December focused on the role of commercial real estate in fulfilling the vision of the United Nations’ Conference of the Parties 27 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, with leading companies pledging to net-zero operations as soon as 2025.

In 2021, the ULI Americas Young Leaders Group (YLG) Steering Committee was formed to better support and connect the more than 50 YLG district council cohorts in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Urban Landspoke with co-chairs Chandler Hogue, director of Gemdale USA Corporation in Pasadena, California, and Katie Maslechko, director of development for Beedie in Vancouver, British Columbia, about how the committee works to empower its members to contribute to the Institute and help shape the future of the built environment.

Ten projects leverage public and private resources to realize complex new developments.

Peter Bedford of Napa, California, a ULI Trustee, Foundation Governor, Executive Committee member, and leader of the Institute and industry, passed away in early January. Since joining ULI in 1980, Bedford was active in all aspects of the Institute and was generous with his time and resources.

Longtime ULI Trustee A. Eugene (Gene) Kohn has been elected a Life Trustee by the Institute’s Global Governing Trustees, the first architect to receive the honor.

There are 150,174 convenience stores operating in the United States, a 1.5 percent increase from a year earlier, reversing a four-year decline, according to the 2023 NACS/NielsenIQ Convenience Industry Store Count.

For grizzled veterans of commercial real estate, the return to a “negative leverage” environment may have been unforeseen but surely was not unique.

The Winter 2023 issue of
Urban Land is now available for ULI members. The cover topic is “Exacting Standards: Outlook for property and development in 2023.”

Deepblocks brings together the core components of the real estate development process—zoning, brokerage, architecture, design, construction, and so on—into one single process guided by artificial intelligence.

Never underestimate the power of showing up. That’s one of the most important lessons I learned through my participation in the ULI Atlanta Young Leaders Group.

The real estate industry’s momentum on climate action only continues to grow as the new year begins, as described in the newly released ULI Global Sustainability Outlook 2023report.

A neighborhood at a former naval base in North Charleston, South Carolina will be the study site for the Urban Land Institute’s 21st annual ULI Gerald D. Hines Student Urban Design Competition—an educational initiative that challenges graduate students to present a development proposal for an existing site to simulate a real-world planning, design, and development scenario.

A spate of recent global crises—including the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, and rising rates of inflation—have forced hospitality practitioners to rethink their development models. This is particularly true for the development of all-inclusive resorts (AIRs) in culturally or ecologically sensitive areas. One such area is Lac Rose—a prime tourist destination in Senegal and a choice location for hotels chains looking to expand in the African continent.

ULI is excited to announce the launch of Art in Place, a global cohort of the Institute’s National and District Councils working independently and together to connect artists, developers, and community voices. The program is the next step in ULI’s ongoing commitment to creative placemaking focused on the integration of art, culture, and creativity as levers of community revitalization.

Thanks to one of the largest public/private partnerships ever assembled in California, Orange County now boasts cutting-edge, energy-efficient government buildings.

Real estate consulting firm RCLCO has released the results of their semi-annual survey of the top-selling master-planned communities of 2022.

The boom in private-equity real estate fundraising that has delivered a slew of billion-dollar megafunds in recent years has slammed into some formidable headwinds. Yet, near-term challenges are not diminishing the appetite for capital among a still-crowded field of fund managers and sponsors.

After another exciting FIFA World Cup, many people in Atlanta will be keeping a close eye on the festivities when the tournament comes to North America in 2026. A program called StationSoccer hopes to bring new training facilities to 10 transit nodes across the city by kickoff.

In the last year, the state’s government has taken robust legislative steps toward stemming the housing crisis.