This year, Earth Day commemorates a theme that resonates with the work of ULI and its global membership: Investing in Our Planet. The theme reflects many evolving factors influencing public and private sector investment decisions pertaining to climate change.

A redevelopment plan for an Oakland, California site presented by a team comprised of students from the University of Texas at Austin has taken top honors in the 20th annual ULI/Gerald D. Hines Student Urban Design Competition. The ideas contest provides graduate students the opportunity to devise a comprehensive design and development scheme for a large-scale site in an urban area.

Twenty-nine professionals in real estate development, planning, design, engineering, finance, and public health from across the globe have been selected to participate in the fifth cohort of the Health Leaders Network—designed to empower real estate and land use professionals with the skills, knowledge, and networks to improve health and equity outcomes in their professional practice and communities.

The Building Healthy Places Initiative has announced the participants in the fifth cohort of the ULI/Randall Lewis Health Mentorship Program, which is supported by ULI Foundation governor Randall Lewis

During the 2022 ULI Housing Opportunity Conference, a panel discussion on “Getting Residential to Net Zero” began with real estate professionals sharing profiles of net zero projects, followed by a passionate discussion on the urgency to get real estate to net zero.

Applications for U.S. apartments from renters of all generations increased by an average of 10 percent year over year from 2.9 million applications in 2020 to 3.2 million in 2021, according to Yardi’s RentCafe. The increase in activity was mainly driven by the youngest renter group, the oldest of whom are 25 years old.

Washington, D.C.–area real estate investment trust JBG Smith has broken ground on two new outdoor placemaking destinations in Northern Virginia’s National Landing. The area will eventually be home to Amazon’s HQ2.

An innovative pilot internship program aimed at advancing diversity in the commercial real estate industry is on track to launch its first cohort of students into paid 10-week learning and mentoring opportunities this summer at some of the nation’s leading REITs. Known as Foundations: REITs and Commercial Real Estate Internship Program, the program is a joint initiative of ULI, the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts, and Fannie Mae’s Future Housing Leaders.

According to Real Capital Analytics, acquisitions of U.S. commercial property by overseas investors rebounded sharply in 2021, with investment concentrated on the apartment and industrial sectors. Cross-border deal volume totaled $70.8 billion in 2021, almost double the 2020 level.

The ULI/Randall Lewis Health Mentorship Program allows students to learn about the Institute, develop relationships with members, and deepen their understanding of opportunities to advance health through careers in the land use industry. Here, mentees share their top takeaways for health and social equity in real estate from the 2021 ULI Fall Meeting.