Author: Rachel MacCleery
Rachel MacCleery is co–executive director of the ULI Randall Lewis Center for Sustainability in Real Estate.
Articles by Rachel MacCleery
- Building Community with Cohousing
Published on April 28, 2023 in Planning & Design
Developers and buyers create new models for housing that hold the promise of a more environmentally friendly, connected, and multigenerational way of living. - World’s Economic Development Rests on Infrastructure
Published on February 20, 2014 in Infrastructure
How to make sure that infrastructure gets the funding and attention they need took center stage during discussions at the World Economic Forum’s Summit on the Global Agenda. - Using Special Assessments to Fund Transit Investments
Published on October 24, 2012 in Infrastructure
Special assessments, which tie property taxes directly to benefits, are being used in some of the country’s highest-profile transit projects. - Regional Cooperation for Transit: Where Are the Votes?
Published on October 24, 2012 in Fall Meeting
When it comes to planning and funding metropolitan transit systems, regional cooperation and buy-in is essential, said panelists at ULI’s Fall Meeting in Denver. Speakers from Minnesota’s Twin Cities, Denver, and North Carolina’s Research Triangle talked about what it takes to get support for—and votes to fund—transit. - The Promises and Perils of MAP-21
Published on October 24, 2012 in Fall Meeting
The new federal transportation bill presents both promise and peril for people interested in thriving urban places, said panelists at a session yesterday during ULI’s Fall Meeting in Denver. - Transportation Bill Signed into Law
Published on September 11, 2012 in Infrastructure
On July 6, representatives of ULI joined other transportation leaders at the White House for the signing by President Obama of MAP-21, the two-year reauthorization of the federal transportation program. - New Transportation Bill Passes with Bipartisan Support
Published on July 03, 2012 in Infrastructure
A new transportation law maintains federal funding for existing programs and includes several provisions that may be beneficial to smart growth policies. While the new law, Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century, doesn’t deliver on all of the changes recommended by the Urban Land Institute, its short time horizon provides hope for progress. - NoMa: The Neighborhood That Transit Built
Published on February 29, 2012 in Infrastructure
An infill transit station, built with significant private sector funding, helped transform a desolate swath of Washington, D.C., into a vibrant, vital, mixed-use neighborhood. - Utah Business Embrace Light Rail
Published on December 13, 2011 in Infrastructure
In Utah, business leaders have helped propel the region's full-speed-ahead investment in transit and connecting infrastructure. - ULI in Action: Leveraging Change in Infrastructure and Transportation through the Curtis Regional Infrastructure Initiative
Published on December 05, 2011 in Fall Meeting
At the 2011 Fall Meeting in L.A., trustee James Curtis divulged the three main takeaways of the ULI/Curtis Regional Infrastructure Initiative—a project intended to move the needle on infrastructure. - Federal Transportation Bill Forecast: Continued Uncertainty
Published on November 08, 2011 in
Transportation experts gathered at the Urban Land Institute’s 2011 Fall Meeting in Los Angeles late last month looked into the country’s transportation future and predicted continued uncertainty at the federal level, along with a need for increased innovation at the state level, and increased private sector involvement in transportation infrastructure provision at the local level. - Roundtable Examines Federal Transportation Bill, Financing Approaches for Streetcars
Published on July 21, 2011 in
While a new federal transportation bill is unlikely before 2012, at the same time local governments are becoming increasingly sophisticated and innovative in using local financing tools to fund transit investments, including those for streetcars. Read about the dim prospects for transportation legislation and the bright ideas local governments are using to find ways to build streetcar systems. - In Dallas, a Downsized Transportation Plan
Published on July 13, 2011 in
In Texas, the tide is turning against big road projects located on the suburban fringe. In Dallas–Fort Worth, projections show both diminishing federal, state, and local revenues and a growing, changing population. Read what Mobility 2035, the regional transportation plan, lays out for the area’s resources, priorities, and policies for the next two decades. - Federal Transportation Bill Uncertain; Cities Try New Ways to Finance Streetcars
Published on June 08, 2011 in
Across the country, cities and stakeholders seeking to build new streetcar and light-rail systems are using various funding methods to put together the funding necessary to build and operate the lines, said experts at the Spring Council Forum. Read how all this is playing out against a backdrop of uncertainty at the national level about the size and direction of the federal transportation program. - Role of Private Sector Shifting in Transit Partnerships
Published on June 02, 2011 in
New partnership models, coupled with greatly expanded private sector involvement, will be needed if cities are to build the urban transit infrastructure that is in high demand across the country, experts said during a panel at ULI’s Spring Council Forum in Phoenix. Learn what new partnerships and strategies leaders in Dallas and Los Angeles are using to move forward with streetcar investments. - Lessons from California for a New National Bank for Infrastructure
Published on November 11, 2010 in
At a Labor Day celebration this summer in Milwaukee, President Obama announced plans to create a national infrastructure bank—one of the first times he has publicly supported the strategy as president. When lawmakers take up the issue, they will need models from the United States and abroad. What lessons can be learned from the California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank, or I-Bank? - Federal Officials Describe Impact of 2009 Stimulus Bill
Published on October 20, 2010 in
The 2009 “stimulus bill,” the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Recovery Act), has stabilized the economy, created jobs, and spurred investment in green infrastructure and energy efficiency, according to Obama Administration officials who spoke at ULI’s 2010 Fall Meeting on October 14. Read how the “largest investment in energy infrastructure in history” was spent and about an analysis done for Vice President Biden. - Reading the Tea Leaves on Transportation Reform
Published on September 01, 2010 in
For years before the clock ticked down on the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU), policy makers and advocates have grappled with what should replace it. A major reform effort may be unlikely for the next few years, or longer. Where does a new bill stand, and what is happening in the meantime? - The Transportation Calculus
Published on July 01, 2010 in
Though less clear, Transportation costs are second only to housing expenses in a typical family’s budget. But efforts to make transportation costs more transparent are underway. The ULI J. Ronald Terwilliger Center for Workforce Housing, working with the Center for Neighborhood Technology (CNT), has developed customizable housing and transportation calculators for three regions: Boston, San Francisco, and Washington D.C. These tools allow homebuyers and renters to enter assumptions about driving and commuting behavior into the calculator and compare transportation costs at different addresses. CNT is also developing a tool that will soon appear on online real estate listing sites in metropolitan areas nationwide, providing information about average transportation expenses for households in a given neighborhood. - Land Use Implications of High-Speed Rail
Published on May 01, 2010 in
Decades in the making, high-speed rail is finally coming to California. In 2008, the state passed a $10 billion bond initiative to build the first leg of its ambitious state-spanning high-speed rail network. These nation-leading plans were rewarded in January with a $2.25 billion federal infusion, part of an $8 billion high-speed rail grant program made possible by the 2009 stimulus bill. When the California network is completed in 2025—with a projected overall tab of $45 billion—the state will have more than 700 miles (1,100 km) of track that will take passengers from San Francisco to Los Angeles in less than three hours, with trains achieving top speeds of 220 miles per hour (354 kmph). What will it mean for land use?