Each year, ULI hosts several policy forums on such topics as smart growth, housing, transportation, and urban development. These forums are an opportunity for experts from the private, nonprofit, and public sectors to discuss important land use and real estate issues and to recommend steps for ULI, policy makers, and practitioners.

Just Published Reports

The Promise of Public-Private Partnerships: Principles and Proposals for the Next President
Report of the Forum on Privatization and Partnerships—During the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and the Urban Land Institute Forum, participants examined the progress and problems of privatization and partnerships in military housing and considered the potential for broadening the principles and practices to other public needs. Their deliberations, as well as external research and other meetings, inform the findings and proposals in this report.

Infrastructure 2008: A Competitive Advantage
Infrastructure 2008: A Competitive Advantage provides a snapshot of current and planned infrastructure investment in a variety of categories across the globe, with an in-depth look at the United States, China, Japan, India and Europe. The second annual report also touches on the infrastructure needs in several of the nation’s largest metropolitan areas, highlighting the consequences of inadequate federal policy and guidelines that have resulted in “a mish-mash of disconnected regional infrastructure management approaches.”

Environmentally Sustainable Affordable Housing
Community Catalyst Report Number 7—Based on a forum of experts and practitioners, this report examines the challenges to the widespread implementation of green building practices and provides recommendations to make it easier and more cost-efficient for both for-profit and not-for-profit developers to build affordable housing that is environmentally sustainable. Green affordable housing projects in Washington,D.C., southern California, Seattle, and New York City are profiled.

Growing Cooler: Evidence on Urban Development and Climate Change (Excerpt)
This new book documents how key changes in land development patterns could help reduce vehicle greenhouse gas emissions. Based on a comprehensive review of dozens of studies by leading urban planning researchers, the book concludes that urban development is both a key contributor to climate change and an essential factor in combating it. The authors make the case that one of the best ways to reduce vehicle travel is compact development: building places in which people can get from one place to another without driving. This includes developments with a mix of uses and pedestrian-friendly designs.