Author: Karen Jordan

Karen Jordan is a freelance journalist, filmmaker, and author based in Los Angeles. She has contributed to The Atlantic, Los Angeles magazine, and the Huffington Post.

Articles by Karen Jordan

• ULI Houston Illuminates Neighborhood Struggle and Potential
  Published on September 28, 2023 in Sustainability
  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 Northwest Outlines Pathways for Community Healing and Well-being 
  Published on September 27, 2023 in Sustainability
  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 St. Louis Addresses the City’s Home Repair Crisis
  Published on August 02, 2023 in
  In St. Louis, a pressing home repair crisis is disproportionately affecting Black homeowners who struggle to afford the upkeep of their homes. This issue is deeply rooted in a legacy of racial injustice, including redlining and restrictive covenants. To find solutions, ULI St. Louis collaborated with local organizations to develop strategies aimed at establishing a Home Repair Network, which will create a new centralized umbrella organization to address the city’s home repair dilemma.
• Retail-to-Life Science Conversions: How to Successfully Reposition Your Asset
  Published on June 14, 2023 in Economy, Market & Trends
  While some big-box retail stores are closing, some developers are eyeing opportunities with retail-to-life science conversions or additions. 
• How Community Involvement Can Make Retrofitting Historic Buildings a Win/Win
  Published on May 19, 2023 in Development
  The development of Zibi, a master-planned development under construction in Ottawa on 34 acres (14 ha) of waterfront property is relying heavily on feedback from the community, including consulting with Indigenous people, panelists said at the 2023 ULI Spring Meeting.
• Closing the Gap: Latresa McLawhorn Ryan’s Mission to Promote Equity in Commercial Real Estate
  Published on April 24, 2023 in
  Armed with a determination to help provide resources and address the racial wealth gap, Latresa McLawhorn Ryan walks the talk. Now the former founding executive director and first employee at the Atlanta Wealth Building Initiative is embarking on a new venture as founder of Atlanta-based Blackbird Strategy Group. Here she shares insights on using real estate to close the racial wealth gap and advance economic security for Black and brown communities.
• Modular Construction Offers Solution to Affordable Housing Crisis
  Published on March 03, 2023 in
  In high-cost markets such as Los Angeles, modular construction is reducing the average cost per unit by more than 50 percent, in addition to higher retention for the workers assembling the units off site.
• Russell Innovation Center CEO Jay Bailey on How Real Estate Can Help Close the Racial Wealth Gap
  Published on February 22, 2023 in
  Jay Bailey, president and CEO of the Atlanta-based Russell Innovation Center for Entrepreneurs, or RICE, is committed to championing Black entrepreneurs and creating unparalleled opportunities. Urban Land recently interviewed Bailey on the subject of how commercial real estate can be used to help close the racial wealth gap.
• Don Peebles and Daryl Carter on Building Affordable Housing
  Published on February 06, 2023 in
  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.
• Connecting Communities: Adding Soccer Fields to Atlanta’s MARTA Stations
  Published on January 03, 2023 in
  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.
• JPMorgan Chase Plans to Raise the Bar at New Manhattan Headquarters, Bet on Return to Office
  Published on October 28, 2022 in
  If the nearly $3 billion headquarters under construction in midtown Manhattan is any indication, JPMorgan Chase is bullish on the return to office and cities. David Arena, head of global real estate for the company, explained the project has long been in the works.
• Highway Removals: Communities Reunite, Breaking Down Barriers, and Righting Wrongs of the Past
  Published on October 24, 2022 in Sustainability
  For decades, highways nationwide were built to connect roads and cities but often came with the added consequence of cutting off the already disenfranchised.
• 5 Executive Men on Why They Support Women’s Advancement in the Real Estate Industry
  Published on September 16, 2022 in
  An increasing number of men in the industry are determined to play a more active role in elevating women in the commercial real estate workplace. As ULI’s Women’s Leadership Initiative (WLI) celebrates its 10th anniversary, five male industry leaders and seasoned real estate executives talk about why the topic is so important to them.
• Coretrust’s Workplace Innovation Lab Showcases Advantages of Back to Office
  Published on August 24, 2022 in Planning & Design
  With a goal of helping lure people back to the office in light of the post-pandemic work environment, Los Angeles-based real estate investment firm Coretrust Capital Partners is showcasing new technology which creates a safe and inviting workplace in an historic building.
• In Memory of Anthony “Tony” Mansour Sr.
  Published on July 14, 2022 in
  Anthony “Tony” E. Mansour Sr., who was best known for developing El Dorado Hills, a master-planned community near Sacramento, California, passed away on June 5. He was 84.
• ULI’s Toronto District Council Works to Address Health Effects of Racial Disparities in Real Estate
  Published on June 14, 2022 in
  
• ULI’s St. Louis District Council Works to Address Health Effects of Racial Disparities in Real Estate
  Published on June 14, 2022 in
  
• ULI’s Northwest District Council Works to Address Health Effects of Racial Disparities in Real Estate
  Published on June 14, 2022 in
  Tukwila in South King County, a suburb of Seattle, is a diverse, growing, immigrant-rich community that struggles with its reputation as a high crime area. It is one of two neighborhoods that ULI Northwest is setting its sights on for its ULI Building Healthy Places Partnership project. 
• ULI’s Houston District Council Works to Address Health Effects of Racial Disparities in Real Estate
  Published on June 14, 2022 in
  
• ULI’s British Columbia District Council Works to Address Health Effects of Racial Disparities in Real Estate
  Published on June 14, 2022 in
  Learning from the past is at the crux of ULI British Columbia’s focus. That district council aims to facilitate research to help provide solutions for the development community to “break down the barriers to housing and other factors that have historically been obstacles for Indigenous health and success,” according to Sheryl Peters, provincial director of redevelopment at BC Housing.
• How Developers and Architects Can Make Real Estate More Equitable
  Published on June 09, 2022 in
  When it comes to examining excellence in real estate with an eye on equity, there are many variables to consider, said panelists speaking at the 2022 ULI Spring Meeting, with affordable housing and community health being two of the most discussed factors.
• How Urban Parks Can Help Transform Downtowns
  Published on June 06, 2022 in
  Park systems in urban settings have a common thread as an increasing number of people nationwide are realizing they can have a positive economic impact on their communities, said panelists speaking at the 2022 ULI Spring Meeting in San Diego.
• Focusing on the Good: The Merits of Crowdfunding Equitable Development 
  Published on May 27, 2022 in
  Equity crowdfunding has emerged in recent years as a viable alternative to more traditional means of raising capital while also allowing members of the community to have a stake in the development. But it can also be used as a tool to generate wealth primarily for people from excluded and marginalized communities and groups, said panelists speaking at the 2022 ULI Spring Meeting.
• View from the Top: IQHQ Cofounder Shares Lessons on Building What You Want
  Published on May 18, 2022 in
  Tracy Murphy, cofounder and president of San Diego–based IQHQ, the life-sciences-centric real estate investment trust, has a drive and a hunger for success that cannot be stopped as the audience at the “WLI Presents: A View from the Top” at this year’s ULI Spring Meeting learned. IQHQ was founded around two years ago and has already become one of the largest property owners in the sector that she describes as “a sweetheart of a space.”
• Five ULI District Councils Work to Address Health Effects of Racial Disparities in Real Estate
  Published on May 18, 2022 in
  A group of ULI district councils has been working to examine local histories of racial discrimination in land use and transportation and current health equity disparities.
• San Diego County’s Urban Revival
  Published on April 07, 2022 in
  Suburban greenfield projects fade away as stakeholders focus on connecting cities and reinvesting in areas with preexisting infrastructure and transit.
• The Great Return: Why On Site Is Becoming the New Off Site
  Published on March 17, 2022 in
  An increasing number of U.S. office workers, ranging from the federal government to small businesses, are now saying that it is time for employees to return to the office.
• WLI Prologis Achievement Awards Help Level the Playing Field
  Published on March 03, 2022 in
  Opening doors to help diversify the industry is a goal of the WLI Prologis Achievement Award. The annual awards are given to women who are ULI members with at least seven years of real estate experience. They must have exhibited leadership in their district councils or on the national or global level to be selected for the award, which funds the winner’s participation at the ULI Fall and Spring Meetings.
• Tracking Progress on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Commercial Real Estate
  Published on February 04, 2022 in Inside ULI
  ULI recently joined a coalition of real estate associations to conduct the industry’s first global diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) survey. The results of the survey were discussed in a January webinar with 92 firms reporting some form of DEI initiative.
• WLI Celebrates Its 10th Anniversary: Looking Back and Looking Ahead
  Published on January 11, 2022 in
  Over the last decade, the number of women members of ULI has more than doubled, in part due to the success of the Institute's Women’s Leadership Initiative.
• Private Sector Taking the Lead on Climate Mitigation after COP-26
  Published on November 29, 2021 in
  During a recent ULI webinar “COP26: Key Takeaways for Real Estate,” participants said that the private sector is moving forward on curbing carbon emissions, but that more political action is still needed.
• Building Small: Creating Community Equity with Smaller-Scale Development
  Published on August 11, 2021 in
  In any industry, large-scale projects tend to draw more attention. However, there is also a lot to be said for building small, said Jim Heid, founder of Urban Green, and also a founding partner of CraftWork, a coworking and community hub in Healdsburg, California, speaking during a recent ULI webinar.