Sustainability

Responding to Record Heat Waves and Systemic Heat Effects in Washington, D.C

A week after the release of a new ULI report on urban heat effects and the built environment, a ULI Washington event focused on how the city is planning for and responding to urban heat issues. While Washington, D.C., is in many ways a leader on this issue, speakers agreed that equity issues need to be addressed in addition to specific policy changes.

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What U.S. Cities Are Learning from Copenhagen’s Evolution

In June, a group of 125 of Denver’s public-, private-, and nonprofit-sector leaders came to study Copenhagen’s brand of sustainable urbanism with the Denver Downtown Partnership (DDP) Urban Exploration program. The DDP study group included 61 members of ULI Colorado, Denver Mayor Michael B. Hancock, several Denver City Council members, and city and county staff members. The study tour explored the city of Copenhagen “through three lenses: livability, equity, and economic innovation, in which growth goes hand-in-hand with quality of life,” said one official.

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ULI Research Explores Impact of Rising Temperatures, Excessive Heat on Urban Development

Worldwide, this past July was the hottest month on record, according to the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service. A new ULI report, Scorched: Extreme Heat and Real Estate, notes that such rising temperatures and excessive heat waves are already affecting urban development and reviews strategies that can help mitigate the effects on communities.

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What a Week in Miami Taught Me about Resilience

A ULI Advisory Services panelists shares learnings from his experience on a recent ULI Advisory Services panel working with the city of Miami and the Miami Downtown Development Authority on its waterfront resilience efforts.

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Recent Articles

  • ULI Advisory Services Panel to Make Recommendations for Implementing D.C.’s Ambitious Climate Goals

    August 5, 2019

    Under the Clean Energy D.C. Omnibus Amendment Act, the District is planning to move entirely to renewable electricity by 2032, with the goal of cutting the city’s greenhouse gas emissions in half by that year as part of its broader commitment to becoming entirely carbon neutral by 2050. To meet those goals, building owners will be required to make energy retrofits on about half of the buildings in the city. To help owners prepare for these changes, ULI partnered with the DowntownDC Business Improvement District for an Advisory Services panel in July.

  • ULI Receives $200,000 Grant from the Energy Foundation

    July 31, 2019

    The Energy Foundation has awarded ULI, via the ULI Foundation, a $200,000 grant to promote activities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as part of a partnership with Bloomberg Philanthropies and the Natural Resources Defense Council. With this grant, the Institute will facilitate the engagement of its district councils, which serve members at the local level, in activities related to the American Cities Climate Challenge.

  • In Brief: Washington, D.C., Named America’s Best City Park System for 2019

    July 29, 2019

    Washington, D.C., has the best city park system in the United States, according to the Trust for Public Land’s eighth annual ParkScore index, which was released in May by the nonprofit organization. Saint Paul ranked second, and three-time defending champion Minneapolis dropped to third.

  • Empowering Tenants to Build Out Sustainably with the Tenant Energy Optimization Program

    July 23, 2019

    No introduction required for the Empire State Building, likely the most famous office building in the world. Already an icon and a historic landmark, it is also becoming a symbol of the future, thanks to a showcase renovation that overhauled the bones of the 88-year-old structure, and ongoing efforts to implement ULI’s Tenant Energy Optimization Program (TEOP), the focus of a half-day event in that building in July.

  • Adjusted ENERGY STAR Calculations Likely to Increase Colder-Climate Office Building Scores

    July 19, 2019

    New ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager building performance calculation adjustments, which will take effect on July 22, will cause a slight increase in cold-weather buildings’ ENERGY STAR scores, reflecting feedback from the real estate industry on an unanticipated large drop in ENERGY STAR ratings over the past year.

  • Enhancing the Hotel Guest Experience through Sustainability

    July 16, 2019

    Wise choices in fixtures, finishes, and functions may draw guests’ attention.

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