Real estate practices may have changed in 75 years, but the Urban Land Institute remains the premier organization for the industry. “The real estate industry moves quickly, but ULI keeps its finger on the pulse,” says Sir Stuart Lipton, deputy chairman of London-based ¬Chelsfield Partners.

Few places speak more eloquently in embodying the attributes of a ULI Heritage Award than its first honoree, in 1989, Rockefeller Center. ULI’s Heritage Award is given periodically to developments that have demonstrated industry excellence for at least 25 years.

The third panel ULI ever conducted, in April 1948, and the most recent one, in June 2011, involved the same city—Indianapolis. The comparison shows that problems faced by cities after World War II—transportation, environmental degradation, overcoming blight, and finding sufficient funds—have not disappeared.

Postwar master-planned communities enabled Americans to build their lives around great neighborhoods, schools, and suburban amenities. In the coming years, communities will continue to be comprehensively planned, but implementation will be in smaller increments, experts predict.