Diversity Equity and Inclusion
Amid a variety of forces—geopolitical, economic, and organizational—requiring a recalibration of terminology and workforce management approaches, the commercial real estate industry shows signs that it is continuing to invest in strategies to foster belonging and inclusion. This is one of the key findings from the recently released Global Real Estate Workforce Survey (Volume IV), which offers a timely overview of how firms are managing the ongoing challenges.
Redevelopment and one family’s fight reshaped a city.
A veteran planning leader reflects on partnership, mentorship, and the practical work of shaping resilient cities across the country.
Juanita Hardy’s role as a champion of art and culture traces back three decades to her days as an IBM executive. Four years ago, she was recognized as an art advocate and collector by The Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C. Her business acumen and penchant for real estate development led her to the Urban Land Institute a decade ago. As vice chair of its Placemaking Council, she advocates for best practices that aid in creating inclusive, sustainable communities.
Now a partner at Lexicon Strategies, Benjamin has spent over two decades at the intersection of land-use policy, infrastructure, large-scale redevelopment, and affordable housing. Her leadership experience includes serving as CEO of Atlanta Habitat for Humanity, chairing ULI Atlanta, and working within the mayor’s office.
During a Women’s Leadership Initiative program hosted by ULI Washington, artists, developers, and cultural leaders made the case that art embedded early—and paid for fairly—is essential to community identity, economic value, and long-term resilience
When my wife and I moved back to the Los Angeles area in 2000, we bought a three-bedroom Spanish-style home two blocks south of the Altadena/Pasadena border, and just a few blocks from the neighborhoods lost in the Eaton fire this past January. It was a special home for us: our first child was born there, and we loved starting our family in such a racially and socio-economically diverse residential community.
ULI New York recently hosted a panel “The Changing Face of Commercial Real Estate—a Program in Recognition of Black History Month,” through a partnership among ULI New York, the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY), and Council of Urban Real Estate (CURE), at REBNY’s Manhattan office, highlighting successful professionals of color.
In the journey toward embedding racial equity in real estate development, the 10 Principles for Embedding Racial Equity Development report, published by Urban Land Institute, serves as more than just a set of guidelines—they are seeds of transformation. When thoughtfully planted in the soil of our companies, projects, and communities, these seeds have the potential to grow into something profound: stronger, more equitable systems that uplift everyone.
In early April 2024, Small Change, an investment crowdfunding platform for real estate development with social impact, and Boston Real Estate Inclusion Fund (BREIF) jointly announced an investment opportunity in a $430 million life sciences building under development by Related Beal. The property—at 22 Drydock Avenue, in Boston’s Seaport District—is slated to be the city’s first life sciences building to achieve LEED Platinum and net-zero carbon emissions.
New studies on urban planning continue to uphold ULI’s 2017 list of 10 best practices in creative placemaking. They underscore three of those practices as essential to optimizing the value of real estate development projects: shared vision, early artist/community engagement, and clear stakeholder benefits.
A redevelopment plan for a Seattle site presented by a team of Georgia Institute of Technology students has taken top honors in the 22nd annual ULI/Gerald D. Hines Student Urban Design Competition. The competition was created with a generous endowment from long-time ULI leader Gerald D. Hines, founder of the Hines real estate organization.
Developers of middle-income projects can’t use subsidy programs such as federal low-income housing tax credits (LIHTCs) to finance their plans. Middle-income developments also often don’t earn enough in rent to support conventional construction loans or attract equity investors.
Women in leadership roles was the theme of a discussion during the 2024 ULI Spring Meeting in New York City. Kelly Nagel, who was recently named Head of Residential at EDENS, an owner and operator of mixed-use properties nationwide, hosted a fireside chat with Nancy Lashine, founder and managing partner at Park Madison Partners, a New York-based boutique advisory and capital-raising firm.
How we use words is important. Words can describe both racial inequities and the efforts to remedy them. As the real estate industry continues the work to dismantle systemic racism, it’s critical to be intentional about language.
Urban Land is spotlighting some trailblazing women in commercial real estate, all of whom are members of the ULI Women’s Leadership Initiative. Emma West, partner at Toronto-based Bousfields Inc., says it was the women who were part of the WLI Toronto Committee when she first joined who were instrumental in her professional development.
The number of women who have joined ULI has more than doubled in recent years, from 20 percent of ULI’s nearly 28,000 members to more than 13,000 female members, which equates to 29 percent of the organization’s 45,000 members. In celebration of this growth, Urban Land is spotlighting some trailblazing women in commercial real estate, all of whom are members of the ULI Women’s Leadership Initiative. Julie Smith, chief administrative officer at Maryland-based Bozzuto and a former ULI District Council Leader, is among them.
Since 2022, five ULI district councils—ULI Colorado, ULI Los Angeles, ULI New York, ULI Louisiana, and ULI Philadelphia—have participated in a long-term effort to tackle climate resilience, equity, and land use issues through the second Resilient Land Use Cohort (RLUC2), hosted by ULI’s Urban Resilience program.
During the summer of 1910, W. Ashbie Hawkins, an African American lawyer, purchased a home at 1834 McCulloh Street, an affluent—and all-white—neighborhood in Baltimore, Maryland. He rented the home to his law partner (and brother-in-law), George McMechen, an African American graduate of Yale Law School.
Los Angeles attorney George Fatheree III—who made national headlines for aiding members of the Bruce family in the return of beachfront property that was taken from their ancestors, nearly a century ago, through eminent domain—is embarking on a new venture, his own social impact fintech, ORO Impact.
Documenting the legacy and contributions of African Americans both now and in the past in building the United States as it is known today.
Whether they are increasing representation of women in the real estate industry, educating students and public officials about development, or helping local communities find solutions to their infrastructure needs, the programs that donors support by contributing to the ULI Foundation have a powerful impact.
Developer Quintin Primo, who has done more than $14 billion worth of transactions over his decades-long career, is currently eyeing revitalizing Chicago’s Loop in his hometown, among other projects.
Survey: 96 Percent of CRE Firms Have DEI Strategies; Increased Focus on Scholarships and Internships
Almost all commercial real estate firms have diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in place in their organizations, with the number of firms adopting formal strategies increasing 5 percent year-over-year, according to the third edition of the Global Real Estate DEI Survey released in January.
Despite the challenges in finding funding, many experts agree that the benefits ofhaving diverse developers in communities of color and across the entire real estate landscape is critical.
Savills chairman and CEO demonstrates the interdependence of driving revenue and DEI
On a recent summer afternoon in Manhattan, Daryl Carter, founder, chairman and CEO of Irvine, California–based Avanath Capital Management and a member of the ULI Global Board, was walking along Lexington Avenue when he—like a superstar—got recognized on the street. The passerby, who previously worked at Freddie Mac, simply wanted a minute of Carter’s time.
Communities of color struggle to thrive in part because real estate appraisals are marred by racial bias, ossified methodology, and industry practices, according to an expert panel at ULI’s Fall Meeting in Dallas.
At the 2021 ULI Fall Meeting, the Redevelopment and Reuse Product Council hosted a panel discussion of Englewood Connect, a project that is part of Chicago’s Invest South/West initiative on the South Side.
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.
