What is a District Council?
District Councils are ULI at the
local level. Organized in 51 North American communities and 13
European communities serving more than 30,000 of its more than 41,000
members.
Through District Council sponsored
educational forums and events such as trends conferences, Smart Growth
programs, and project tours, through community outreach programs, and by
providing industry expertise to community leaders, the opportunity to
influence local land use policy continues to be the focus and
achievement of the District Councils.
In the ULI fashion of offering an
unbiased and non-partisan exchange on issues impacting the industry,
District Councils provide the avenues for active dialogues between
private industry, environmental organizations, and public agencies to
help provide solutions to local and regional issues.
The History of the District Council Program
The District Council Program began in 1983 when ULI's
Trustees approved a set of seven "District Council Network" regions. At
that time the Trustees noted that "as the American economy shifts from a
centralized industrial base to one of geographically separate,
diversified economic centers, it is increasingly difficult to paint
local issues with a national brush and that as the balance of
power—the ability to get things done—shifts form the
national level to smaller political units, local initiatives will become
a driving political force parallel to the 'bottom up' theory of
networking structures." By 1984 the network had expanded to nine regions
and the first meeting was held in Chicago on December 13, 1984.
The District Councils were intended to provide an
expanded base of membership resources needed to support the Institute's
program of work at the local level. By 1987 there were 34 metropolitan
areas represented in the network and nine meetings were held. By 1990,
the regions were replaced by District Councils in individual
metropolitan areas.
The District Council Program began to take off in the
1990s. Led by Los Angeles, Atlanta, Chicago and Washington, the District
Councils moved from the "breakfast club" mode to entities which produced
ULI quality programs and began outreach activities in their communities.
The number of District Councils grew from 8 in 1991 to 36 by the end of
the decade. In 1996 a strategic plan was created, setting forth how the
District Councils should be organized, how they should function and how
they should be viewed within ULI. The plan created full-time senior
staff positions to administer the District Councils and set the
framework for a substantial increase in the prominence of the Program
within ULI, extending ULI's influence into the hometowns of its
members.
Upon assuming ULI's Chairmanship in July, 1999, Ron
Terwilliger made the District Council Program one of his primary focuses
with objective to take the District Councils to "the next level" and
make them the place to be at the local level. Joe O'Connor, one of ULI's
national officers and Chairman for 2001 to 2003 agreed to become the
chair of the Boston District Council. A Summer Retreat at Deer Valley,
Utah in July 2000 and a planning session in Prairie Crossing, Illinois
resulted in a new strategic plan setting forth a "seamless"
organizational structure, integrating all aspects of the Institute and
the local level. The success of the community outreach program and the
frequency of Senior Resident Fellows speaking engagements at District
Council events are two examples. The next two chairs, Joe O'Connor
and Harry Frampton, continued to focus on "ULI in the
Community" and the District Councils continue to grow
exponentially as more and more real estate professionals use ULI's tool
to make a visible difference in the communities in which they live and
work. As a result, ULI's membership has grown from 15,000 in 2000
to over 41,000 today.
Today there are 51 District Councils in the
Americas serving more than 30,000 of ULI's 41,000 members. In addition,
there are 13 District Councils in Europe with over 2,000 members and 50
events annually. Attendance at District Council events has grown from
around 10,000 in Fiscal Year 2000 to over 70,000 in Fiscal Year 2007.
Growth continues at a record pace in Fiscal Year 2008 with
over 22,000 attendees at 286 events in the first four
months. More and more District Councils have significant
outreach strategies and our members are having a profound influence on
the land use issues in the communities where they work and live. The
District Councils have truly become the "delivery system" for ULI's
policy and practice agenda at the local level.
What's New?
ULI has been busy over the last several months, mapping
out a plan for the Institute's future. Click on the link below to
download the Trustee Update and see what's in store for ULI.
ULI Trustee Update - What's New Since the Fall Meeting
in Denver?
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