A $1 million gift from Alex J. Rose, executive vice president for Continental Development Corporation, will help the ULI Foundation establish a $7.5 million endowment to provide long-term funding for its advisory services program, which assembles panels of volunteer ULI members to provide expert advice and recommendations to communities facing land use challenges.

At ULI Chicago’s October gathering at the new 73-story 1000M apartment tower, located at 1000 S. Michigan Ave., key members of the building’s development, architecture and construction teams hosted a tour of the project and enlightened attendees with a panel discussion on the history behind the skyscraper’s signature cantilever.

The Colorado Convention Center is one of the country’s busiest meeting venues. The work of a ULI Advisory Services panel played a significant role in Denver’s decision to build the convention center. But it had a humble and fractious start.

Within the next 50 years, Earth will become a planet of cities. From São Paulo to Shanghai, Lagos to Los Angeles, today’s cities are no longer just places where people live. They are the active ingredient shaping how humanity evolves, how we work, how we connect, and how long we may ultimately thrive as a species. Arguably, few organizations are better positioned to contend with the challenges of a fast-urbanizing world than ULI.

Can third spaces help downtowns bounce back from the pandemic?

An estimated 29 million people struggle to afford quality health care in the United States, with 11 percent of adults considered “cost desperate” and underserved in supply-constrained environments. To expand access and expedite health care to these communities, providers are converting vacant properties into much-needed outpatient facilities, tracking toward an estimated 10.6 percent growth rate over the next five years. Innovative design and construction ingenuity bring these projects to life by delivering increased solutions that address the unique needs of each community. Such is the case with SAC Health Brier Campus, a former banking call center that was recently transformed into a “healing oasis” in San Bernardino, California.

A recent project in Seattle—Africatown Plaza—demonstrates the alchemy of community collaboration and a development team’s commitment to creating a neighborhood that can thrive. Much can be learned from how the team prioritized people in the process to make a people-centered place.this process

More than a century ago, the Baltimore waterfront was a working harbor. After a massive 1970s redevelopment that turned the area into the centerpiece of Baltimore’s tourism industry, the American Institute of Architects called it “one of the supreme achievements of large-scale urban design and development in U.S. history.” Yet it became insolvent in 2019. Key lessons learned here can prevent this cycle from repeating as we envision what the next 100 years might hold for the center of Charm City.

London is one of many cities rethinking its car-first orientation and embracing a more holistic vision of urban life rooted in social connection. Car-free and car-light streets are most successful when they function as social infrastructure that supports belonging, well-being, and public life. In other words, infrastructure matters, but intentional placemaking determines results.