Urban Land - March/April 2010

City OutlooksCities seeking to enjoy world-class status in the coming years will be those that can conceive of and implement effective development strategies to enhance existing assets and plan for future improvements that anticipate the evolving needs of the 21st century.

Feature:

Where Are Cities Headed?
By Ron Nyren

Five experts from the fields of real estate development, architecture, and urban planning discuss the role of cities in an urbanizing world and offer insights into how cities are—and should be—shaping future development as the recession ends.

London: Standing Firm   
Lauren Parr

Though London’s economy has been hit hard by the global recession, the city stands firm alongside New York City and Tokyo as one of three global financial centers and remains unrivaled as the business capital of Europe.

Paris: A New Blueprint 
Paul Lukez

The problem of city making today does not so much concern making new ones as it does transforming those that already exist—especially suburbs—and edge-city developments. What can the United States learn from French President Nicolas Sarkozy and his goal to remake Paris?

Vancouver: Going for the Green
Martin Zimmerman

While the transportation component of Vancouver’s Winter Olympics is being watched closely by planners of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, Vancouverites saw the event also as an opportunity to reframe the city’s long-range transport picture, particularly in the context of a greener future.

Boston: Growth Game
Jeffrey R. Glew

Well positioned for near-term recovery, Boston is starting to address impediments to development and the city’s high cost of living in order to facilitate longer-term growth.

• A New Era of Innovation: Boston Tests New Strategies to Take City into the Future
• Massachusetts Postindustrial Cities Move to Take Charge of Planning Process
• Boston’s Neighborhoods Working through Challenges
• Boston’s Orange Line Credited with Revitalizing Parcels
• Boston and the Northeast Region Try Initiatives Centered on Passenger Rail Corridors
• Next Step for Boston’s Greenway: Activating Surrounding Spaces
• Public/Private Partnership Helps Olmsted Green Build Out
• Leasing Momentum On Point at Boston Retail Center Despite Economy
• Institutional Growth Continues in Central Boston
• Planning Study Helps Boston Prioritize Sustainable Roof Technologies 

Climate Positive
Roy Higgs and Dustin Watson

The Clinton Climate Initiative’s Climate Positive Development Program intends to demonstrate workable solutions for sustainable urban growth through pilot projects in ten countries on six continents. 

Green Lessons from Gown to Town
David McIntyre

While representing only 3 percent of total greenhouse gas emissions in the United States, colleges and universities are demonstrating progress toward reducing such emissions through their operations, facility development, and curricula—actions that may have applicability beyond the “gown” to the “town” beyond. 

Little Infill
Sam Newberg

Small, mixed-use infill projects are becoming favorites of the planning and development industry because of their compact urban scale, innovative design, and positive impact as catalysts for their neighborhoods.
What Will the Urban Hotel of the Future Look Like?

Developments

Infrastructure Update: Congress to Extend Surface Transportation Program

Music, No Dancing at ULI Europe Annual Conference; Speakers Candid and Cautious

Efforts by Europe, the United States, Japan to Shore Up Ailing Financial Institutions Are Having Mixed Success, Says New ULI
Europe Report

In Memoriam: Longtime ULI Leader Robert C. Larson

Sentiment in Europe Cautiously Optimistic, Reports Emerging Trends

Nordic Cities Achieve High Scores in Green City Index; Stockholm is E.U.’s First Green Capital 

Opinions 

Cities Q&A with Catherine L. Ross on Megaregions
Linda Stephen

The director of Georgia Institute of Technology’s Center for Quality Growth and Regional Development and an adviser to the Obama administration’s White House Office of Urban Affairs discusses the implications of megaregions for future development and how best to develop to compete globally. 

Climate Change Quantifying Climate Policy: Planning for Change
Claire Bonham- Carter

The U.N. Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen may have ended without an international commitment to specific greenhouse gas reduction targets, but the development community still needs to prepare to meet stringent targets in the next five to ten years. Both California and the U.K., among others, have already started down the path that the rest of the world is likely to soon follow. 

Demographics A Glimpse into the Postcrash Environment
James Chung and Sally Johnstone

The future looks a lot more female for residential developments that correlate with income and educational attainment.

ULX

Hotels Remaking History 
Ron Nyren

Ten renovation and retrofit projects make over structures to meet the needs of the contemporary hospitality industry and tap the place-specific power of older buildings.

ProActive 

Capital Markets 

Institutional Investors Commit New Capital
Geoffrey Dohrmann

Institutional investors will not be abandoning real estate as an asset class in 2010. Instead, they will be retrenching, rethinking, and carefully dipping their toes back into the water. 

At Issue 

Developing for Water Scarcity
David Stocker

Developers are applying novel conservation strategies to prevent water shortages from triggering building moratoriums. 

Replanning Small-City Downtowns
Nina J. Gruen and Aaron N. Gruen

Given the demographic and behavioral shifts, as well as the supply competition, expected to continue after the economic recovery, what steps should small cities take to boost their downtowns? 

The Foreclosure Crisis and Neighborhoods
Jess Zimbabwe

Four U.S. mayors discuss strategies to tackle rapidly declining neighborhoods that have been hit with vacancies and foreclosures.

In Practice 

Leveraging Models: The 63-20 Process
Jim Miara

Participation in the 63-20 bonding process offers ample incentives for developers. 

Encouraging Architectural Continuity in Cities
Neisen O. Kasdin and Andrew W. Frey

Miami’s new code, known as Miami 21, marks the first time a form-based code has been adopted for an entire major U.S. city, and it is likely to accelerate the trend. 

Ways to Make Housing Projects Affordable
Alec Apelbaum

A focus on affordable living considers both housing costs and commuting costs, an element the federal government now says it is serious about using as a benchmark.

In Design 

New Tools Activate the Urban Environment
Oliver Higgs

As cities embrace promising new technologies, innovative ideas have prompted an exploration of the potential of virtual architecture. 

In Print, Etc. 
Water: The Epic Struggle for Wealth, Power, and Civilization

Aqua Shock: The Water Crisis in America

Back Page 

Creating Value Out of Air
Bill Pham

Three-dimensional airspace subdivisions can create added value to real estate developments.

Departments

UL MailBox 

CEO Perspective 

This Issue

Regional Spotlight: 
Northeast