A focus on food is providing a rich arena for innovation that can improve outcomes for people, the earth, and real estate returns. While food and real estate development decision making have long been interconnected, growing interest and awareness in fresh, local food is spurring innovation when it comes to development projects.

To explore this potential, ULI crafted a series of Food and Real Estate Forums to explore challenges, trends, and opportunities around food. In New Orleans, Louisiana, the program focused on food access, food as a revitalization strategy, and food as an economic ladder; while in New York, discussion focused on farming and food production, resilience, and sustainability. The forums explored compelling stories, and brought members face-to-face to share new ideas.

About the New Orleans Forum About the New York Forum

Forum Goals

The forums provided an opportunity for an invitation-only group of key real estate leaders, subject matter experts, and nonprofit and public sector leaders to explore:

• Connections between food and real estate.
• The role of food in placemaking and revitalization strategies.
• Connections between food, urban sustainability, and resilience to climate change.
• Opportunities to improve health outcomes, create more economic opportunity, and improve social equity through food interventions, policies, and developments.

Convened and hosted by the ULI Building Healthy Places Initiative and the ULI Center for Sustainability, the forums provided an opportunity to share insights from ULI members, to hear from leading voices in the area of food, food and real estate, and food policy, and to draw from the experience of investors, design and development professionals, and retail practitioners to shape projects and places in healthier, more sustainable, and more economically successful ways.

ULI is grateful to the Colorado Health Foundation and the Leichtag Foundation for their support of this project and the Building Healthy Places Initiative. ULI is also grateful to the Shaw Family for its support of the ULI New Orleans Food Forum and to the Shops at Canal Place and O’Connor Capital Partners for their sponsorship of that forum.

If you are interested in learning more about the programs of Building Healthy Places or the Center for Sustainability, please connect with us at [email protected], or visit the Building Healthy Places or Center for Sustainability websites.