The following 10 projects—all completed during the past five years—include museums that display art in former produce warehouses and decommissioned cheese factory buildings and libraries in an old post office and a former temple.

Physical distancing and restriction of travel were some of the earliest and most effective and widespread strategies enacted worldwide to control the transmission of COVID-19. Roads emptied of typical automobile traffic, and many were used in new ways to support the needs of communities. Cities used roadways to create space for walking and bicycling, outdoor commerce, and queuing for essential services, with the implementation of these programs moving abnormally quickly to respond to an increased demand.

In recent years, companies from Google to McDonald’s have flocked to Chicago’s Fulton Market neighborhood just west of downtown, attracted by its historic feel, acclaimed restaurants, and pool of talented young residents. Now it has a new draw—Fulton East, a 12-story building that champions biophilic design and cutting-edge strategies for promoting health and wellness in the wake of the pandemic.

Fall meeting attendees toured on foot this dynamic and exciting community in Chicago that is evolving differently than any other Chinatown in America. A neighborhood rich with historic and award-winning contemporary architecture, this proud community is fighting gentrification while retaining its cultural significance.

Slated to open in Jackson Park in 2025, the Obama Presidential Center will incorporate a museum, a forum building with collaborative and creative spaces, a large plaza, a new branch of the Chicago Public Library topped by a fruit and vegetable garden, a great lawn, a children’s play area, an athletic center, and winding landscaped paths, said representatives from the Obama Foundation at the 2021 Fall Meeting in Chicago.

Affordable and workforce housing policies and programs put in place by the governments of Alexandria, Virginia, and Minneapolis, Minnesota, have been selected as joint winners of the 2021 Urban Land Institute Robert C. Larson Housing Policy Leadership Awards. The annual awards, presented by the ULI Terwilliger Center for Housing, recognize innovative ways the public sector is addressing the nation’s affordable housing crisis, and the winners will be celebrated at the ULI Fall Meeting in Chicago.

The ULI Terwilliger Center for Housing has announced seven winning residential projects for the 2021 Jack Kemp Excellence in Affordable and Workforce Housing Awards, which will be celebrated at the ULI Fall Meeting in Chicago. Winners include projects in California, Idaho, Massachusetts, New York, Puerto Rico, Texas, and Washington.

Chicago announces its second winner in the prestigious net-zero competition, as developers, owners, and property managers work to meet the city’s emission goals.

The New York Convention Center Operating Corporation announced the completion of the Javits Center’s new rooftop event space as part of its $1.5 billion expansion project on Manhattan’s West Side. The farm and event space, along with several other sustainable upgrades, builds on the success of the convention center’s robust sustainability program.

As art requirements gain momentum in enhancing the public realm, developers are also getting smart about making public art work for the public, as well as for the project

In a recent ULI Terwilliger Center webinar, titled “Grand Boulevards: A Framework for Workforce Housing, Environmental Repair, and Economic Balance,” focused on a possible avenue for increasing the availability of housing.

Destination Crenshaw, a transformative 1.3-mile (2 km) infrastructure project scheduled to open in fall 2022, was the focus of a ULI Los Angeles virtual event in July, highlighting plans to boost the Crenshaw community through economic development, job creation, and environmental healing while elevating Black art and culture.