The ULI California-Nevada Technical Assistance Leadership Exchange advances innovative solutions to regional land use and climate resilience issues through collaboration between local governments, public sector leaders, and the real estate industry.  Hosted from April 2025 to April 2026, the program facilitates connections, dialogue, and expert exchange to explore strategies for creating resilient and sustainable communities through land use and real estate interventions.

The built environment plays a critical role in enhancing a community’s ability to withstand, adapt to, and recover from the effects of climate change and physical climate hazards. Thoughtful building design and land use policy can mitigate the impacts of extreme weather and other environmental risks, allow flexibility as conditions change, and promote community health. Although climate change and environmental vulnerabilities are worldwide issues that transcend geographic boundaries, localized strategies can help ensure adaptation addresses unique community needs.

Seven public agencies in California and Nevada were selected to participate in this program. Working in tandem with their closest ULI District Council, each of these agencies will host a Technical Assistance Panel focused on a specific and resilience and land use challenge in their communities. Technical Assistance Panels, modeled after ULI’s Advisory Services, are multiday engagements that leverage the expertise of the ULI member network to provide technical advice to cities around specific land use challenges.

Through this program, seven agencies are analyzing local resilience issues and exploring strategies for enhancing community readiness to climate impacts and other environmental vulnerabilities.

City of Long Beach (ULI Los Angeles)

In partnership with the City of Long Beach, ULI LA will propose ways to improve housing, mobility, and sustainability in Alamitos Beach, one of Long Beach’s oldest neighborhoods, located right next to downtown and the waterfront. Recommendations will accelerate housing production, improve transportation and parking options, and provide pathways for retrofitting existing structures for environmental hazards while not displacing existing residents.

Nevada State University (ULI Nevada)

ULI Nevada will offer recommendations to Nevada State University around the development plan for a 400-acre parcel adjacent to the school’s growing campus. With a once-in-a-generation opportunity to shape a university district from the ground up, the panel will provide strategic advice around phasing development, attracting private-sector partners, and aligning land use with water and climate resilience goals in the Southern Nevada context, with a goal to create a walkable, mixed-use district that fosters learning, health, innovation, and community pride.

City of Needles (ULI Orange County/Inland Empire)

ULI Orange County/Inland Empire is partnering with the City of Needles to identify strategic opportunities for sustainable growth and resilience. The project will focus on how Needles can grow by attracting businesses and housing, thrive by addressing community needs, and mitigate extreme heat, infrastructure challenges, and safety concerns. The team will deliver actionable recommendations to support the city’s long-term prosperity.

City of Sacramento & Sacramento County (ULI Sacramento)

ULI Sacramento is collaborating with the City of Sacramento Planning Division and Sacramento County Planning and Environmental Review to explore strategies for mitigating the urban heat island (UHI) related to new development. Sacramento faces extreme heat, flooding, and air quality impacts projected to increase over the next century, and this partnership will work to identify policies and strategies to ensure a more cohesive, equitable, and impactful approach to addressing UHI across the region.

City of San Diego (ULI San Diego-Tijuana)

In partnership with the City of San Diego, ULI San Diego-Tijuana will offer recommendations around catalyzing the development of “missing middle” housing types that integrate heat resilient design elements and sustainable building materials. The city aims to incorporate heat resilient design features into preapproved plans for duplexes, triplexes, bungalow courts, and other small-scale multiple home developments, making it easier and more financially feasible for developers to build these types of homes, and mitigating the urban heat island effect in vulnerable neighborhoods.

City of San José (ULI San Francisco)

 The City of San José is leveraging the ULI TAP to identify best practices and funding strategies for implementing its forthcoming Climate Adaptation and Resilience Plan (CARP). The CARP project focuses on addressing site-specific vulnerabilities to flooding and extreme heat, strengthening equitable community engagement, and supporting long-term climate resilience for the city’s most at-risk populations.

Program Goals

1. Support local governments in identifying practical solutions to land use challenges focused on climate risk and resilience.
2. Foster stronger connections among California- and Nevada-based governments and land use professionals, demonstrating how cross-sector and cross-regional partnerships can advance innovative ideas and community success.
3. Distill key lessons, policy approaches, and strategies that other communities can adopt locally and nationally.

Key benefits for local government participants include:

• Technical Assistance: Objective recommendations and advice on a local land use challenge through a ULI TAP (a $20k – $35k value). See the Technical Assistance Panel section below.
• Cross-sector Knowledge and Leadership Exchange & Networking: Participation in a year-long exchange program with ULI members and other land use professionals from municipalities in California and Nevada. To support learning and sharing, participating governments will be expected to attend virtual and in-person events throughout the program. In addition, program participants will have the opportunity to support TAPs in other communities. Travel, accommodations, and dining stipend provided by ULI.
• ULI Memberships: Participating governments will receive a free Public Agency Membership package for one year ($680 value). The membership package includes one full membership and two associate memberships. ULI memberships must be assigned to individuals on staff at the public agency, and the expectation is that the individuals receiving the memberships will attend the ULI Spring and Fall Meetings and participate in the exchange elements of the program. Additional memberships can be added starting at $150 per individual per year (see details here).
• ULI Fall and Spring Meeting Attendance: Participating governments will receive registration and travel support (stipend) for two (2) individuals to attend the ULI Spring Meeting in Denver, CO (May 12 – 14, 2025) and the ULI Fall Meeting in San Francisco (November 4 – 6). ULI will host an in-person convening at each conference for members of the exchange to meet, network, and discuss their projects. Attendance at these in-person convenings is required for all participating governments. ($3,500++ value.)
• ULI Resilience Summit Attendance: As an added benefit, program participants who attend the ULI Spring Meeting in Denver have the option to attend the ULI Resilience Summit on Thursday, May 15. The Resilience Summit is ULI’s flagship climate adaptation event, convening industry leaders in real estate and resilience from around the world to address the challenges and harness the opportunities posed by climate risks.

Technical Assistance Panels (TAPs)

As part of this project, selected governments will work with their local ULI District Council to execute one TAP focused on a specific local land use and resilience issue. TAPs leverage the knowledge and expertise of the ULI membership to provide objective advice to city agencies and nonprofits on specific land use challenges. ULI has been providing technical assistance to communities for more than 75 years. During a TAP, a small group of volunteers work over a concentrated timeline to provide solutions to complex land use and real estate problems posed by a local government or nonprofit. ULI selects volunteers or “panelists” from its global network of more than 48,000 members based on the specific nature of each assignment. Panel member expertise typically includes real estate developers, investors, designers, planners, engineers, market and financial analysts, and public sector members. The panel lasts two to three days, and on the final day, the panel presents its final recommendations to the local government and key stakeholders. Following the final presentation, ULI prepares a formal report summarizing the recommendations, completed a few months after the on-site engagement.

Resilience Topics and Themes

ULI’s Urban Resilience program is focused on how buildings, cities, and communities can be better prepared for the impacts of climate change and other environmental vulnerabilities. A central goal is ensuring that efforts to enhance resilience not only reduce vulnerability to climate impacts, but also strengthen cities overall, enhancing environmental performance, economic opportunity and social equity.

Program Timeline

• Friday, March 28 at 5 pm PT: Application deadline
• March 31 – April 4: Application review
• April 4, 2025: Selected governments are notified of their acceptance
• April – May 2025: Participating governments work with ULI District Council staff to prepare for their TAP. ULI hosts first virtual convening for program participants. Virtual participation required.
• May 12 – 15, 2025: ULI Spring Meeting in Denver, CO. *In-person participation required*
  • Tuesday, May 13: In-person convening for program participants at the Spring Meeting
  • Thursday, May 15: Option to attend the ULI Resilience Summit (registration fee covered by ULI).
• June – November 2025: ULI hosts bimonthly (every other month) virtual calls for program participants. Dates to be determined. Virtual participation required. Participating governments host local TAPs.
• November 4 – 6, 2025: ULI Fall Meeting in San Francisco *In-person participation required* ULI will host in-person convening for program participants (date TBD).
• Spring 2026: ULI publishes a summary report distilling key lessons learned and best practices from program projects.

This program is jointly supported by the ULI Randall Lewis Center for Sustainability in Real Estate and the ULI Advisory Services program.