Ten years ago, ULI released the Building Healthy Places Toolkit: Strategies for Enhancing Health in the Built Environment report. The Toolkit, developed by ULI in partnership with the Center for Active Design, offered 21 practical and tactical evidence-based strategies and recommendations that real estate leaders can employ to improve the health outcomes of residents and building users.

A city renowned for its vibrant culture and sweeping coastal skyscrapers, Miami set the stage for this year’s ULI Health Leaders Network Introductory Forum. Spanning the course of three days, Cohort 8 learned from local practitioners and explored the various ways in which the city marries real estate and land use with health and social equity. The Health Leaders toured historical and contemporary neighborhoods, provoking thoughtful discussion on how Miami development compared to their own local contexts.

Home to almost 700,000 people, Vancouver is known for its gleaming residential towers, striking natural beauty, and dense development. However, like many progressive urban centers on the west coast, it has also struggled with significant issues that threaten the quality of life for its residents, including persistent homelessness and lack of affordability.

Amblebrook, an innovative retirement community in the historic setting of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, was specifically designed to remedy this social disease. It shatters the mold of the conventional 55-plus community.

The Veterans Community Project serves any veteran who took the oath to defend the Constitution, regardless of discharge status, length of service, or branch of service. The program strikes an effective balance between community and individual dignity, employing a robust combination of housing and services. As a result, the program has a high success rate of 85 percent in transitioning unhoused veterans to permanent housing.

Since 2017, the ULI Health Leaders Network has served as a platform for cross-sector professionals looking to grow their leadership skills, make meaningful connections, and drive progress in health and social equity. Welcoming thirty new members to the Network, Cohort 7 joins a global community of practice of over 200 professionals. Spanning 24 cities and 6 different countries, the new cohort represents a diverse range of real estate, land use, design, policy, and public health professionals. To learn more about the individual Cohort 7 members, explore their profiles and biographies here.

A general session at the ULI Carolinas Meeting, moderated by Risa Wilkerson of Healthy Places by Design, showcased how the convergence of the built environment, health and equity forms a complex web that impacts every facet of human life. Dr. Malo Andrew Hutson, a distinguished academic at the University of Virginia’s School of Architecture, provided a deep dive into how residential segregation and the built environment contribute to health disparities.

Innovative technology platforms already are helping many owners operate apartment buildings more efficiently and improve services for tenants. But experts say that is just the start of a revolution that could transform the multifamily segment.

The Los Angeles Better Buildings Challenge in June presented sustainability prizes to the “Best Buildings” in Los Angeles at its annual Innovation Awards. Hudson Pacific Properties, Barings, and CommonWealth Partners, which are both active members of ULI Los Angeles and Greenprint, were among the six projects honored.

The COVID-19 pandemic has challenged us all to rethink everything we thought we knew about productivity and the workplace. As we have learned, the answers are far from straightforward, but they are nevertheless emerging. During a 2021 ULI Virtual Spring Meeting session, real estate experts explored how employees’ preferences and performance are leading to a suite of workplaces—a “multiverse of work” in which homes, corporate offices, and various other locations will combine to enable a high-performing workforce.