Leslie Braunstein

Leslie A. Braunstein, APR, is principal of LHB Communications, Inc., a boutique public relations firm located in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. LHB combines the flexibility, creativity, and cost-effectiveness of a small PR firm with the solid experience and outstanding results of a large PR agency. The mission of LHB Communications is to help clients meet their business goals by building their brands and enhancing awareness of their accomplishments among key stakeholders and audiences. Leslie is a seasoned award-winning PR professional with over 25 years of experience working with real estate industry clients and others in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, throughout North America, and abroad. Leslie holds professional accreditation from the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) and a master’s degree from the University of Maryland’s College of Journalism. On behalf of clients and under her own byline, Leslie has published millions of words in a variety of prestigious media including The Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, The Washington Post, USA Today, numerous trade publications, and many other well-known publications and online media. Earlier in her career, Leslie served as served as a public information officer with the U.S. Department of Energy and as a communications manager with Booz-Allen & Hamilton, Inc. For more information, see www.lhbcommunications.com.

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Federal agencies are under continuing pressure to reduce their demand for leased and build-to-suit space. They intend to reduce square footage used per employee, increase teleworking—and make better use of existing government buildings, administrators told a ULI WashingtonTrends conference audience.
You cannot improve the market, but you can improve the information you rely upon, says The Econosphereauthor Craig Thomas.
Public/private partnerships can be used to create and restore public spaces, adding value to surrounding real estate. Bryant Park in Manhattan serves as a successful model of this. In Washington, D.C., a public/private partnership has been established to bring that improvement model to the National Mall.
The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act will have little effect on U.S. real estate markets, says former governor Eliot Spitzer, because it is being “whittled away piece by piece.” Spitzer says it repeatedly has been demonstrated that self-regulation does not work and that it is the job of government.
When it comes to decreasing energy use in privately owned buildings, is it more effective to use a carrot or a stick? Experts from around the country, Laurie Kerr, senior policy adviser for New York City’s Mayor’s Office; Jayson Antonoff, energy and climate policy adviser for Seattle; Barry Hooper, private sector green building specialist for SF Environment, San Francisco’s environment department; and Charles Leitner, chair of ULI Greenprint Center for Building Performance, discuss efforts and obstacles to getting owners to measure and publicly report energy use.
In order to lower energy use in privately owned buildings, is it more effective to use a carrot or a stick?
The industrial city of Hamburg, Germany, has an ambitious goal of reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent by 2020.
While the grass may not always be “greener on the other side,” cities may be considerably greener on the other side of the Atlantic—such as Hamburg, Germany, the 2011 European Green Capital.
During his address at the closing session of the ULI 2011 Fall Meeting in Los Angeles, the Honorable Robert M. Gates, former U.S. Secretary of Defense, said that the strength of the U.S. real estate market depends on a strong economy, which in turn depends on the nation’s security. Read more to learn what he said about the factors that may lead to a permanent shift in international geopolitics.
At a ULI 2011 Fall Meeting session titled “HUD Catalysts for Repositioning Neighborhood Markets,” a yet-unauthorized new HUD program called Rental Assistance Demonstration was described that would allow Section 9 public housing and several other HUD housing programs to convert to Section 8. Read more to learn how this program is just one part of HUD’s larger strategy to preserve rental housing.
How are retailers doing in the wake of the ongoing economic downturn? According to a panel of national large-format retailers convened during ULI’s 2011 Fall Meeting in Los Angeles, they’re doing better than some might expect—thanks to smaller and more efficient footprints, growing use of social media to reach their clientele, sophisticated branding, and a focus on customer service.
Despite the deepest economic recession since the 1930s, small-scale entrepreneurs are finding creative ways to develop and finance both commercial and residential real estate projects—and occasionally even make money. Find out what two such entrepreneurs told the audience at a recent ULI 2011 Fall Meeting session titled “Small-Scale Development: Entrepreneurship in the Post–Credit Crunch World.”
Urban Land Contributors