"We should all be open minded and constantly learning."—Daniel Rose
As American cities face impacts from global trends of climate change, migration, economic downturn, and security threats, city leaders are faced with swiftly shifting landscapes for their decisions. Some cities, long struggling under aging infrastructure and declining population, are facing arduous decision about cutting public jobs and services in spite of increased demand for public libraries, transit, and other facilities. Even "sun belt" cities that saw astronomical growth and development rates as little as one year ago are now finding they need to develop their capacity to manage portfolio of vacant or distressed properties. In this context, the Urban Land Institute is proud to announce the Daniel Rose Center for Public Leadership in Land Use, which will serve as a resource to our public sector leaders as they learn and adapt to the contexts around them. As the ULI Rose Center continues its ongoing series of educational workshops for public officials and rolls out the Daniel Rose Fellowship for Public Leaders, we'll continue this bi-monthly update on our work. You can look forward to new podcast interviews with public sector leaders, an introduction to our first class of Daniel Rose Fellows, and announcements about upcoming opportunities to learn at workshops and events in your region.
Jess Zimbabwe, AIA, AICP, LEED-AP
Executive Director, ULI's Daniel Rose Center for Public Leadership in Land Use
Podcast: Interview with Miami Mayor Manny Diaz
Miami Mayor Manny Diaz is a Cuban-born lawyer, who was first elected in 2001. His first term was characterized by rapid growth in Miami’s downtown development. Re-elected in 2005, Mayor Diaz is now working to pass Miami 21; a form-based overhaul of the city’s zoning code. Diaz also serves as president of the United States Conference of Mayors, and recently received the 2009 Keystone Award from the American Architectural Foundation. In this interview, he discusses Miami’s downtown in the current economy and the role of cities in preventing climate change.
Podcast: Interview with Jack Sylvan in the San Francisco Mayor's Office of Economic and Workforce Development
In this edition of the Rose Center podcast, listen to an interview with Jack Sylvan, the Director of Joint Development in the San Francisco Mayor’s Office of Economic and Workforce Development. Jack oversees several public/private real estate development projects, and for the past 6 years, he has managed the redevelopment of the former Naval Station at Treasure Island. The Treasure Island project plans are focused on creating the most sustainable large development project in the United States. In this interview, Sylvan discusses the process of convening various public agencies and selecting a private master developer partner.
Implementing Sustainable Development in Your Community - Workshops for Local Public Officials
San Diego, CA
May 19-20, 2009
Register Now!
Denver, CO
June 4-5, 2009
Register Now!
Sustainable development policies and practices are becoming a high priority for local governments. Conserving energy, reducing carbon emissions, protecting natural resources, and balancing economic and social opportunities, while meeting constituents’ needs, require vision, leadership, and collaboration. This new two-day workshop will provide valuable tools and strategies for local public officials eager to learn how they can leverage more sustainable development practices in their communities.
The workshop includes definitions, measurements, case studies, and group exercises that focus on best practices and the most effective role that public officials can play in creating more sustainable communities while enhancing constituents’ quality of life. For more information, click here.
“The ULI Rose Center Sustainability Workshop for public officials was time well spent. The instructors provided a valuable framework for thinking about sustainability as a regional responsibility that cuts across jurisdictions and departments. Perhaps most importantly, I appreciated the opportunity to hear the private sector perspective on sustainability and what kind of public policies will accelerate more green development patterns in our region. We need more dialogues like this one.” —Rebecca Yarbrough, Assistant Director, Centralina Council of Governments
In each issue, the Rose Center will highlight an example of the long history of ULI District programs and initiatives to engage public officials on land use issues. One of the most innovative programs to date is the Center for Sustainable Leadership, designed and administered by ULI South Carolina. Below is short summary of the leadership program and ists success to date.
“Land use issues are controversial in South Carolina. We need our leadership to take the long term perspective of sustainability and lead constructive public dialogues about the challenges and opportunities of future growth in the state. Otherwise, we risk losing a healthy and prosperous future for our children and grandchildren.” That is John Knott, former chair of ULI South Carolina and President and Co-founder of Noisette Companies, summarizing why ULI South Carolina started the the statewide leadership program.
The program's curriculum is designed to teach senior level leaders from the public private and nonprofit sectors (1) best practices in the responsible use of land use from around the world, based on global knowledge and research of ULI, and, (2) leadership and communication skills for respectful dialogue about how the state should grow.
“Our hope is that this program can provide a place for the state’s stakeholders to develop a common framework for talking about regional growth and to develop a network for helping each other adopt policies that will protect our future,” he said. "We must be able to sit at the table together and talk through controversial issues in a civil and productive manner."
The program is having an impact already. A member of the first class has already arranged to bring “Reality Check, “ a ULI regional land use visioning exercise, to Greenville, South Carolina, to build consensus for how the region should grow and best compete for its economic position in the global marketplace. Two jurisdictions in the Charleston area have asked ULI to convene a technical assistance panel to recommend a solution to a long standing dispute about expansion of a road between two cities. In both cases, ULI was invited in because of its nonpartisan capability to convene all stakeholders at the table to discuss tradeoffs about different land use strategies n the context of market realities. “We fully expect this collaborative model to become the norm as more leaders graduate from the Center for Sustainable Leadership program,” said Knott.
The program is in the middle of its second class of 60 leaders. The class convenes 6 times over the year to learn about the challenges of growth in the areas of land use, infrastructure and the environment. Each class curriculum includes interactive exercises, discussions about leadership and background material on the demographic, economic and environmental forces at play in the state’s three regions. They discuss books, such as the The Five Dysfunctions of a Team and Growing Cooler; they look at maps and develop alternative scenarios of regional growth; they examine the specifics of financing infrastructure and how to structure public-private partnerships. At the end of the year long program, each participant serves on a technical advisory panel providing strategic advice to a South Carolina community on a land use issue.
Other District Councils are in the process of starting similar programs. For more information, click here for the website.
—Heidi Sweetnam