2009 ULI Fall Meeting Scholarship Program for Public Officials
The ULI Daniel Rose Center is pleased to announce that public officials are eligible to receive a substantial scholarship to attend this year’s ULI Fall Meeting in San Francisco. The meeting, set for November 3-6, will include a special suggested track for public officials and a reception in their honor. The scholarships, provided through the support of AMB Property Corporation, will give recipients at least a $550 reduction in their registration rates. A limited number of scholarships are available, so applicants should submit their materials early.
Click here to learn more!
Podcast: West Palm Beach Mayor Lois Frankel on Creating a Vision for the Waterfront
Lois Frankel was elected mayor of West Palm Beach, Florida in March 2003 and re-elected by a wide margin in March 2007. Throughout her two terms, Frankel has made quality of life a priority for the city. Her administration has been marked by major accomplishments in revitalizing downtown and its waterfront.
Mayor Frankel sat down with Rose Center executive director Jess Zimbabwe in June at the U.S. Conference of Mayors Annual Meeting in Providence, Rhode Island where she discussed a ULI advisory services panel that visited West Palm Beach in 2003. Frankel discussed the importance of having outside experts validate some of the local ideas and the value of national expertise to local leaders who are looking to shape a vision for their community.
Podcast: Brent Toderian on Leadership in Planning
Brent Toderian has been planning director for Vancouver, British Columbia, since 2006, succeeding celebrated co-Directors Larry Beasley and Ann McAfee. He has a broad mandate in the office, including current planning, projects related to the 2010 Winter Olympics, visioning, and community planning.
In May, he spoke to a group of mayors and other officials from the San Diego/Tijuana region as part of the ULI San Diego/Tijuana District Council’s Mayors Forum. The event was organized in conjunction with the Rose Center public officials workshop Sustainable Development in Your Community, which was held in San Diego on May 19 and 20. He discussed Vancouver’s recently approved EcoDensity initiative and emphasized the importance of having elected leaders who support a candid and holistic planning process.
The Daniel Rose Center is pleased to announce that Wallace Roberts & Todd, LLC (WRT), an urban planning, urban design, landscape architecture, and architecture firm based in Philadelphia, has pledged their support to the ongoing work of the center by joining the Rose Center Principal’s Circle. WRT is a collaborative practice of city and regional planners, urban designers, architects, and landscape architects, with offices in New York City, Miami, Dallas, San Diego, and San Francisco. WRT has worked with cities, counties, transit operators, and other public agencies across the country, and has received numerous awards, including ULI’s Heritage Award for its work on Baltimore’s Inner Harbor. The Daniel Rose Center looks forward to partnering with this leading firm to promote excellence in land use decision-making by public officials.
To learn how you can support the work of the Rose Center, contact JB Rauch at 202-624-7135 or jb.rauch@uli.org.
In September 2008, 300 leaders from the public and private sectors attended the third annual ULI San Francisco Transit Oriented Development (TOD) Marketplace, a program that brings together developers, economists and urban designers to help Bay Area cities move forward with successful TOD plans. The program has been enthusiastically received by public officials as a source of valuable strategic advice on how to assemble the right ingredients for development of successful transit villages.
San Jose mayor Chuck Reed says he is looking forward to hearing the advice to be presented at the fourth TOD Marketplace, scheduled for this September 2009:“In the next decade, downtown San Jose's historic Diridon Station will become the Grand Central Station of the West, connecting California's economic and tourism hubs with services that include California High-Speed Rail, BART, Caltrain, and a variety of other train, light rail, and bus options," said Reed. "The city of San Jose is delighted to collaborate with the Urban Land Institute to develop plans for the Diridon Station area that incorporate the best principles in sustainable architecture, enabling future transit-oriented development to complement our downtown and enhance surrounding neighborhoods."
Each year, ULI San Francisco works with its partners—Metropolitan Transportation Commission, the Association of Bay Area Governments, Reconnecting America and the Nonprofit Housing Association of Northern California—to select six TOD sites from across the region. ULI San Francisco then assembles multi disciplinary panels from the real estate industry to visit the targeted TOD sites; evaluate the environmental, traffic, and neighborhood impact of new TOD projects; and develop recommendations for a feasible development strategy. During the day-long Marketplace program, the panels present their recommendations in a roundtable discussion with city officials and members of the public.
At the 2008 TOD Marketplace, a panel of ULI members advised San Carlos city officials to pursue a stronger and more proactive approach to planning for TOD around its Caltrain station. After touring the site and meeting with community stakeholders, the panel identified several factors inhibiting TOD development, including the low-density zoning limitations, the wide streets and high traffic speeds near the station and the need for pedestrian-friendly streetscapes and sidewalks. In its presentation at TOD Marketplace, the team outlined of six steps that would enhance the feasibility of developing a transit-oriented village near the station:
- create a specific plan for TOD area
- increase building densities and heights on strategic ties with TOD areas
- prioritize pedestrian and bicycle access over auto
- rethink the retail/commercial strategy
- strategically use Tax Increment Financing funding for TOD; and
- educate the public regarding the many benefits of TOD.
“The Bay Area has a goal to build more compact communities near transit as a way to reduce carbon emissions and to increase transit ridership,” says Kate White, executive director of ULI San Francisco. “We know these plans involve a new level of partnership between the public and private sectors. TOD Marketplace provides an opportunity for private developers and consultants to give feedback to public officials on what policies and regulations will accelerate development around a transit stop or along a transit corridor. It supports our region’s long-term commitment to sustainable land use planning and decision-making.”
For more information, contact Kate White, executive director of ULI San Francisco, at kate.white@uli.org.
—Heidi Sweetnam