ULI Advisory Services convened a panel of land-use experts in early April to brainstorm ideas on how to improve funding for long-term maintenance and sustainability of Detroit’s parks.

San Francisco’s American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) has opened a new venue in the Strand, transforming the century-old movie theater into a nonprofit experimental performance space. The new theater acts as a watershed for the economic regeneration of San Francisco’s Central Mid-Market Neighborhood.

A community development corporation and a developer committed to affordability and sustainability team up to provide rental housing with top-notch energy efficiency.

A decade ago, the 2200 block of Grays Ferry Avenue, the one-third of a triangular intersection girding an inoperative 19th-century fountain, was mostly prized for the handful of parking spaces it offered. Today, the street is closed to vehicular traffic and festooned with planters, painted asphalt, café tables, and a bike-sharing station.

In 1998, Mayor Richard M. Daley established a partnership with Chicago’s philanthropic community called the Millennium Park Foundation (MPF), a 501c3 not-for-profit corporation, and together they produced Millennium Park, which opened July 16, 2004.

As city governments seek to improve the sustainability of their buildings—while also cutting operating costs—they are increasingly exploring the benefits of green civic structures. Read about the city of Henderson, Nevada’s experience with its North Community Police Station, which offers valuable lessons for other cities while also highlighting some important benefits of a green police station.

Vibrant parks can serve as a catalyst for economic regeneration of urban areas. Amanda Burden, a commissioner with the Department of City Planning in New York City and previous recipient of ULI’s J.C. Nichols Prize for Visionaries in Urban Development, moderated a session with leading thinkers in park development across the country. Read about the successful efforts in New York, Detroit and Houston and how these parks have spurred development.