At the 2025 ULI Asia Pacific Summit—May 26–29, in Hong Kong—a panel of Asian economic and geopolitical experts addressed one of today’s most immediate global concerns: the implications of U.S.–China economic decoupling and the broader geopolitical shifts reshaping global trade and investment.

Fourteen developments from across Asia have been named winners of the 2025 ULI Asia Pacific Awards for Excellence, one of the real estate industry’s most prestigious honors. Announced at the 2025 ULI Asia Pacific Summit held in May in Hong Kong, this year’s award winners include projects in Australia, Bangladesh, China, India, Japan, the Philippines, and Singapore.

Winning proposal reimagines Hong Kong’s Kai Tak Waterfront as a model for sharing cities, where density drives innovation and inclusive urban living.

India, one of the fastest-growing economies in the world, is urbanizing rapidly. By 2030, more than 40 percent of its populace is projected to live in urban areas, contributing there to more than 70 percent of the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions. The demand for commercial and residential spaces is surging, which attracts global investors eager to capitalize on this dynamic market. This rapid growth comes with a pressing question, however: can India urbanize without following the carbon-heavy trajectory of other developed countries?

In the Sydney suburb of Marrickville, two not-for-profit organizations—Fresh Hope Communities, the public benevolent institution entity of churches of Christ in NSW and ACT, and Nightingale Housing of Brunswick, Victoria—came together to develop a building that contains 54 units renting at 80 percent of market rates as well as two community-focused commercial spaces. The Churches of Christ Property Trust has provided a 99 year lease for the land, which allows the units to remain affordable far beyond a more typical 10-year period.

Investors will be facing an environment wherein slower economic growth is expected in the coming years, explained Lawrence Lennon, director, capital markets at CBRE Vietnam, who spoke at a mid-November workshop during ULI Asia Pacific’s REImagine 2024 in Vietnam.

Shenzhen’s Nantou Ancient City project represents a groundbreaking approach to revitalizing China’s historic urban villages in a way that preserves their cultural heritage and community fabric. After China’s government designated Shenzhen as a Special Economic Zone in 1980, the city’s more than 400 urban villages grew rapidly to provide informal housing for an influx of migrant workers. The result: high-density residential areas that maximized rental income but often compromised on fire safety and hygiene standards.

One of Singapore’s most vibrant districts demonstrates how public/private partnerships and the community can shape the built environment.

Governments, businesses, and communities need to collaborate to reduce carbon emissions to ensure that decarbonisation is not just a buzzword.

Held in fast-paced and bustling Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, in mid-November, ULI Asia Pacific’s REImagine 2024 brought together more than 100 professionals in a uniquely engaging way.