WASHINGTON (September 20, 2018) – The Urban Land Institute (ULI) announced that its Center for Sustainability and Economic Performance has launched Developing Urban Resilience, a free, easy-to-use portal for members and the public to access resources about real estate development projects showcasing best practices in resilient design. ULI is a global, multidisciplinary real estate organization whose work is driven by 42,000-plus members dedicated to responsible land use and building thriving, sustainable communities.

“We are very pleased to provide this resource as a tool to help improve urban resilience,” said ULI Global Chief Executive Officer W. Edward Walter. “ULI’s work in this area is based on the premise that we can strengthen resilience through what we build, where we build, and how we build. Improving resilience is an opportunity to build better communities that are positioned not just to withstand changing climate conditions, but to better meet the needs and expectations of future generations. We see building for resilience as building for the future.”

Increasingly devastating storms such as Hurricane Florence and Typhoon Mangkhut are elevating the urgency to identify ways to make the built environment more resilient in the face of climate change and other environmental vulnerabilities. ULI’s Developing Urban Resilience portal contains a growing library of project briefs that highlight best practices in adapting to changing climate conditions and creating opportunities to achieve economic, environmental, and social co-benefits, such as:

  • Buffalo Bayou Park in Houston, Texas, is designed to submerge during flood events, and proved its effectiveness during Hurricane Harvey as it hosted visitors just days later;
  • 181 Fremont in San Francisco, California, is a 57-story mixed-use skyscraper designed for earthquake preparedness through the REDi standard;
  • 1450 Brickell in Miami, Florida is a 35-story Class A office tower built with impact-resistant and hardened materials to withstand flying debris and winds up to 300 miles per hour;
  • Brock Environmental Center in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Elevated 14 feet above sea level and capped with a curved roof, the structure is designed to withstand the threats of storm surge flooding, and high winds; and
  • ENR2 in Tuscon, Arizona, which uses active chilled beams, innovative shading techniques, and native plants to mitigate the effects of sweltering heat produce energy costs savings.

Each of these projects demonstrates a unique approach to resilience with a focus on protecting investment in real estate and infrastructure, increasing preparedness for climate risk, and creating an opportunity to strengthen their communities through co-benefits such as enhanced green space or recreational opportunities. Developers and other land use professionals can nominate projects, policies or resources to be added to the portal, expanding the knowledge base for the public to utilize.

This website continues ULI’s longstanding work in resilience issues, and is part of the Institute’s ongoing effort to assist communities globally with enhancing resilience through land use, development and design strategies. Over the past several years, ULI has helped more than 15 communities across the U.S. develop resilience strategies in the face of increasing climate-related disasters through programs such as advisory service panels, which draw upon the knowledge and expertise of its diverse membership to offer solutions to urban challenges.

About ULI’s Urban Resilience Program
The Urban Resilience program provides ULI members, the public, and communities with information on how buildings, development, and cities can be more resilient in the face of climate change and other environmental vulnerabilities. From rising sea levels to more frequent storms to extended droughts, the changing climate poses short- and long-term risks and opportunities for real estate development and urban planning. The program draws expertise from ULI members to provide resources and strategies to mitigate those risks at the building and city scales, as well as seeks to create a more resilient and durable vision for community development.