Learning from Members to Build a More Equitable Future

Real estate professionals have powerful tools to shape the future of people and places, including to facilitate more equitable outcomes in communities.

Members’ interest in advancing social and racial equity, and their sense of urgency to do so, has been growing since 2020. They have looked to ULI for guidance on how to translate their interest into action, and the Institute recently released the report 10 Principles for Embedding Racial Equity in Real Estate Development to provide high-level, guiding ideas on making racial equity central to practitioners’ work.

However, ULI recognizes that this report is just the beginning of a larger conversation. Much more is needed, and developers, investors, and other practitioners often have questions about how to get started.

In late May, the conversation continued with a webinar titled “What Does Racial Equity Look Like in Real Estate Development?” Sharing their insights were Brian Allen “A.J.” Jackson, executive vice president, social impact investing, JBG Smith; Melanie Brown, president and CEO of Restoration 52; Gabrielle Bullock, director of global diversity of Perkins & Will; and Taylor Ralph, founder and president of REAL Building Consultants, all of whom contributed to the 10 Principles report. As they gave specific examples from their own lives and work, they illuminated many of the principles:

1. Embed racial equity across all aspects of your real estate development practice.
2. Commit to building your knowledge and optimizing your personal and institutional power.
3. Articulate the racial equity business case.
4. Use data to ensure equitable processes and outcomes.
5. Leverage capital to drive equitable change.
6. Understand and address current and historical context.
7. Recognize the power of language.
8. Create a community-centered development process.
9. Build trust, transparency, and credibility.
10. Form strong, intersectoral partnerships.

Some of the ways in which the speakers have embedded racial equity into their projects are described below, focusing on the third, sixth, and eight principles. Access this webinar on demand on ULI’s Knowledge Finder.

Articulate the Racial Equity Business Case

The business case for embedding racial equity in real estate development includes reducing risk, strengthening the real estate environment in currently underserved neighborhoods (which can lead to future development opportunities), creating financial value alongside social value, and making projects more competitive. This complements other motivations to work on racial equity, noted Jackson, saying, “There is both a business case and also a social imperative around racial equity, and often we need to speak to both.”

Of course, the value created from equitable development projects can be even larger than the value to real estate. Brown described how, during her career as a healthcare executive, she had an epiphany: “If we don’t start addressing what’s happening in the built environment and all of the resources that have been stripped out of the built environment that have led to a decline in health, then we’re never going to get to where we need to be from a health prevention standpoint.” She now develops projects that improve health equity, saving costs for both individuals and healthcare systems and, more importantly, improving quality of life.

A focus on racial equity is also essential for the future of the real estate industry. Societal expectations around racial equity are changing, and acting now can help firms to position themselves as leaders. “This is not just a nice to have,” said Bullock. “I really think that advancing equity in our profession is going to keep us relevant.”

Being able to articulate these many dimensions of the racial equity business case—and more—can help to demonstrate the real, and often overlooked, value of equity-focused development projects. These cases can be tailored to different projects, audiences, and contexts, helping to elevate racial equity as not just a “bonus” but as a true value-add.

Understand and Address Current and Historical Context

The history of racism in the real estate industry is interwoven with United States history and local histories, and its legacy continues to shape health, economic, and other outcomes today. Understanding the past can help real estate professionals to more effectively work with communities, repair past injustices, and envision a more equitable future.

This may involve a focus on personal learning. “Listening and acknowledging the historic issues that are continuing to infect our society are very critical steps that I took personally,” said Ralph, who also helped to spark additional learning as part of ULI Tampa Bay’s 21 Day Equitable Development Challenge.

It could also entail professional training. Jackson described a training he took with his development team, and one of the takeaways for him was the importance of learning about the localized history of where they were working so that they could better understand the context they were stepping into.

However, understanding is just one piece of this principle. “I strongly believe that the power of design and focus on equity and inclusion can help reverse and undo the status quo of those historical barriers that have prevented racial equity in our country,” said Bullock. Real estate professionals can intentionally leverage the development process to work make racial equity a reality, moving the industry forward while helping to redress past wrongs.

Create a Community-Centered Development Process

During the webinar, the speakers described many different components of centering communities throughout the development process.

In one example, Brown described a project in Greenville, South Carolina, where the historically Black community is experiencing gentrification pressures. Although the neighborhood has been typically underserved, it is now seen as higher value and aiming to “grow within the lens of inclusivity” rather than displacing long-term residents. Brown is working with a local Black church that has been acquiring land parcels around them. They have the opportunity to develop about 60 acres of land to fulfill the community’s vision for their neighborhood, and the community will drive the direction of new development.

Bullock also discussed the importance of ensuring that the community has a more significant role than just giving input, saying “The biggest and richest design outcomes involve the community as design partners.” She also emphasized that this cannot happen without building trust and authentic relationships: “We may be trained, an expert in gathering voices and synthesizing information; community leaders have the trust of the community, and you won’t get any information unless they trust you.”

Ralph agreed, remarking that community members have critical knowledge and are the ones impacted by the development. Community members are “going to know that that community needs best,” he said, “and potentially be able to participate in the economic upside.”

From planning projects around a community vision to building trust to partnering with the community in all decisions, centering the community is not about checking a “community engagement” box but working together to create more successful development projects that respond to real wants and needs.

These are just a few of the principles that came up during the webinar, and a fraction of the possibilities for applying them. No matter what the principles look like in your real estate practice, Jackson gives an important reminder: “We are dealing with people and race, not just projects and economics.”

Access this webinar on demand on ULI’s Knowledge Finder.