Recent Articles

• Three U.S. Cities Find Challenges and Successes in Their Bets on Renewables

  August 28, 2017

  Cities and towns around the world are committing to increased use of solar, wind, geothermal, biomass, and hydro energy, and many have achieved some level of success. But so far only a handful can claim they are 100 percent powered by renewable energy.

• U.S. Cities Increasingly Focused on Resilience, but Funding Challenges Persist

  August 14, 2017

  The increased emphasis being placed by cities—small as well as large—on embedding resilience into their land use and development policies was the topic of the 2017 Resilient Cities Summit cohosted in Stowe, Vermont, by ULI, the National League of Cities, and the U.S. Green Building Council. Attendees said resilient approaches to infrastructure and development provide long-term economic benefits for cities by safeguarding their real estate assets and tax base, supporting business continuity after adverse events, and protecting residents.

• Making the Case for Health: Insights from the First WELL Projects

  August 10, 2017

  With a handful of WELL-certified projects now in operation and hundreds in the certification pipeline, real estate owners and developers are starting to take a hard look at the business case for healthy building certification.

• Seeing a Bright Future for Energy Storage

  July 31, 2017

  Commercial property owners are rethinking their skepticism toward energy storage systems, with battery prices dropping and third parties offering new financing models.

• The Future of Growing Cities Requires Less Parking, More Shared Rides

  July 21, 2017

  Though longer commute times alone can be a sign of a city’s appeal, metropolitan areas have to fix their traffic problems in order to prepare for the future, said experts speaking at the recent ULI Netherlands Conference in Amsterdam.

• Expanding the Usage of New York City’s Governors Island

  Since the donation of the 172-acre (70 ha) Governors Island to New York City in 2003, most of the work on the island has focused on expanding its recreational assets. With an impressive amount of parkland now established, a new push is afoot to expand the island’s uses, both recreational and otherwise.