Urban Land Institute

Overview

ULI, the Urban Land Institute, is a 501(c) (3) nonprofit research and education organization supported by its members. Established in 1936, the Institute today has more than 35,000 members worldwide, representing the entire spectrum of the land use and development disciplines. ULI relies heavily on the experience of its members. It is through member involvement and information resources that ULI has been able to set standards of excellence in development practice. The Institute has long been recognized as one of the world’s most respected and widely quoted sources of objective information on urban planning, growth, and development.

ULI is committed to:

  • Bringing together leaders from across the fields of real estate and land use policy to exchange best practices and serve community needs;
  • Fostering collaboration within and beyond ULI’s membership through mentoring, dialogue, and problem solving;
  • Exploring issues of urbanization, conservation, regeneration, land use, capital formation, and sustainable development;
  • Advancing land use policies and design practices that respect the uniqueness of both the built and natural environments;
  • Sharing knowledge through education, applied research, publishing, and electronic media; and
  • Sustaining a diverse global network of local practice and advisory efforts that address current and future challenges.
Adaptation Work:

Issue Areas

Creating Resilient Communities

  • What are the best new models in the real estate and land use industry, and how can we support their development?
  • How can we best adapt and reuse existing real estate while eliminating obsolete space in order to create thriving communities?
  • How can we influence land use leaders locally and around the world as they reshape the process of community building and developing both social and physical infrastructure?

Understanding Demand and Market Forces 

  • How can we best understand demand (quantity, type, price, and location of the need) for real estate and discover what the market wants short-term versus what it needs long-term?
  • How can we help balance local, regional, national, and global interests as well as public and private interests, in terms of how they affect land use decisions and development?
  • How will changing technology influence building and buildings, and how will people’s use of technology influence how they interact with the physical environment?

Connecting Capital and the Built Environment through Value

  • How can we best generate value in the built environment that is greater than its cost?
  • What are the best ways to ensure the attractiveness of real estate as an investment as institutional capital allocators continue to change and become more global?
  • What is the most effective way to demonstrate and explain the relationship between investment in both public projects (including infrastructure) and amenities and the impact on real estate value?

Promoting Intelligent Densification and Urbanization

  • What are the most responsible ways to provide cost-effective housing for a rapidly increasing global population that is becoming increasingly urbanized?
  • How can we advance the understanding of the relationship between a high quality of life and the built environment in order to promote the creation of high-quality, appropriately priced density that is attractive to users?
  • What is the relationship between a thriving economy and a thriving city—between a dynamic society and the built environment?

Integrating Energy, Resources, and Uses Sustainably

  • How can we best reduce the negative impact of the built environment on our natural resources and climate?
  • What are the best ways to use the world’s energy resources and protect the built environment from volatile and unpredictable conditions?
  • How will trends in energy and resources affect the future best use of land?
Phone Number: 202-624-7000