At ULI, we are dedicated to improving the environments in which all people live, work, and play. Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are the pillars of sustainable, thriving communities.  The calls for racial justice throughout the United States have strengthened our resolve and accelerated our efforts to promote DEI as a fundamental force for creating thriving communities for the future.

We readily acknowledge that past real estate and land use decisions have contributed to community divisiveness and racial inequality. We believe that current and future industry actions can remedy mistakes and foster unity. We also believe that the best way to effect change within the industry is for ULI to lead by example.

Our organization, and indeed our industry, must look more like the communities we serve. This means increasing the number of Black people and other people of color who are members of ULI as well as who are in leadership positions within the organization. It also means increasing the number of Black people and other people of color who serve on ULI’s staff.

In addition, we are strengthening our support of programs, policies and practices that increase DEI, and we are raising awareness among our members about these efforts so they can guide our progress and build momentum for program expansions. This includes the following:

ULI Programs 

Pathways to Inclusion: This District Council program, started by ULI Michigan in connection with the 2018 Spring Meeting, is offered to minority real estate professionals. The program covers the cost to attend ULI’s Spring and Fall meetings for one year and includes an annual ULI membership. It has since been offered by ULI Boston (Fall 2018), ULI Nashville (Spring 2019), ULI Washington (Fall 2019) and ULI Toronto (Spring 2020). Further expansions are underway.

Real Estate Diversity Initiative (REDI): REDI, which is also a District Council program, started in ULI Colorado about 12 years ago. It is offered to women and people of color to advance their careers and expand their professional networks. ULI Minnesota, ULI Memphis, ULI Indiana, ULI Kansas City, and ULI St. Louis now offer REDI and ULI is pursuing further expansions.

UrbanPlan: This urban development curriculum, which reaches more than 4,000 students annually in the Americas, is offered to high school and college students as well as public officials. An expansion of UrbanPlan through the District Council network to more underserved communities is underway.

ULI Learning: ULI’s digital education program was launched in 2019 with a focus on expanding industry diversity. Offerings from ULI Learning include Foundations of Real Estate (FoRE), a curriculum designed to invite diverse students without any business background to consider career opportunities in our industry.

Advisory Services Panels: ULI Advisory Services Panels will continue to invest in opportunities that allow for a focus on equity and inclusivity, while ensuring more robust community engagement and impact assessment.

The Women’s Leadership Initiative (WLI): WLI is a comprehensive well-designed initiative that has significantly increased participation of women in ULI by focusing on the engagement, leadership, and visibility of women within ULI and the commercial real estate industry.

External Partnerships

Real Estate Associate Program (REAP): This program trains career-changing minority professionals for positions in real estate. Programming offered by ULI Learning to help support REAP is being planned. Gwyneth Jones Coté, President, Americas, serves on the board of REAP.

Paradigm for Parity (P4P): ULI has signed a partnership agreement with P4P, an organization that promotes the acceleration of women in senior leadership positions. ULI encourages its member organizations to consider signing the P4P pledge.

Real Estate Executive Council (REEC): REEC is the leading trade association formed to promote the interests of minority executives who work in commercial real estate. ULI helped support REEC’s effort to engage high school minority students through their summer camp, where a version of UrbanPlan was part of the camp curriculum.

These are just some of the many ways ULI is striving to be better and do better, so that our Institute will continue to lead the real estate industry in creating the thriving, equitable communities that we, our children, and grandchildren deserve.