Recent Articles

• Minority Residents Can Feel Left Out of the Development Wave That Has Engulfed Cities Such as Nashville

  April 18, 2019

  The civil rights struggle of 50 years ago—Nashville was the first southern city to desegregate public services, setting an example for activists throughout the South—continues today, but now it is more focused on economic equality. That was the main takeaway from a ULI Spring Meeting session during which panelists discussed how much the civil rights struggle has achieved and how much further it has to go.

• Proptech Advancements May Be a Game-Changer for Industry

  April 17, 2019

  A new generation of software platforms could do everything from monitoring buildings’ energy and water use in real time to providing tenant workforces with on-site access to medical treatment services, said panelists at ULI’s Spring Meeting.

• Nashville Leaders: What Draws 100 New Residents Each Day

  Nashville is evolving from “a nice small city to an emerging, medium-sized city,” said speakers at the 2019 ULI Spring Meeting, in part because of the city’s willingness to invest in its downtown through public-private partnerships.

• Cities Must Know Their Assets—and Have Vision—to Succeed, Say ULI Senior Fellows

  Civic leaders, including public officials and private developers, must be proactive and prepared to take risks if they want to develop their cities for the new economy, ULI Senior Fellow Tom Murphy said at the ULI Spring Meeting in Nashville. Cities are facing unprecedented changes in a variety of arenas, including cultural, technological, economic, and demographic. At a session titled “Smart Choices in a Changing World,” ULI’s senior fellows debated ways that cities can thrive in a new economy while creating a sustainable workforce for future needs.

• Technologies Driving More Cost-Effective Construction in Singapore

  April 15, 2019

  While the construction industry is a significant contributor to economic growth in Singapore and the region, it has been plagued by low productivity and insufficient investment in innovation over the years. A panel discussion at a ULI Singapore conference brought together expert speakers from the public and private sectors to touch on some of the new technologies—ranging from prefabricated construction methods to 3-D modeling systems—that are being used by industry players, and what more needs to be done to encourage wider adoption of these solutions.

• Bringing Smarter Payment Systems, Sensors to Hong Kong

  When the Octopus card was introduced to Hong Kong 22 years ago, it quietly revolutionized transportation in the city. It certainly made the city “smarter” and easier to navigate, both quicker and with a lot less spare change in your pocket. But what steps can a city such as Hong Kong take now to ensure it remains relevant in another two decades’ time?