News from the ULI Building Healthy Places Initiative: February 2018

February 1, 2018

The ULI Building Healthy Places Initiative (BHP) works to engage, inform, and inspire ULI members and partners to do more to advance health.

Parks

Parks and open spaces are essential components of resilient, healthy, and equitable communities. In partnership with the Trust for Public Land and the National Recreation and Park Association, ULI is working to ensure that everyone in urban America has the opportunity to live within a ten-minute walk to a high-quality park.

Exciting opportunities include the following:

Advisory Services panels on parks: ULI is offering one-week Advisory Services panels focused on parks and related issues at a cost to sponsors of $25,000 (a typical panel costs $130,000). Does your community have a park-related challenge you could use some help with? Read about the incredible impacts these panels can have. Learn more.
Urban Open Space Awards: Nominate vibrant and catalytic parks and open spaces for the ULI Urban Open Space Awards. Submissions will be accepted until March 5, 2018. Learn more.
District Council Engagement Grants: ULI is offering $5,000 grants to support district council programming focused on parks and open space, such as convenings, research, and communications. Only U.S. district councils are eligible. Applications are due March 5, 2018. Contact your district council to get involved.

Intersections Conference

ULI is partnering with Smart Growth America to host the conference Intersections: Creating Culturally Complete Streets in Nashville, Tennessee, from Tuesday, April 3, through Wednesday, April 4, 2018. The conference will explore opportunities to create streets that reflect local arts and culture and that work better for everyone. Lessons from ULI’s ongoing Healthy Corridors Project will be a key theme at the conference. You won’t want to miss it! Learn more.

New Project Profiles

Building Healthy Places has released three new project profiles on healthy housing and active transportation! Read more:

Prospect Plaza in Brooklyn, New York, has supported the mental, social, and physical health of its residents through community gardens, active staircases, and outdoor recreation areas. Learn more.
Blue Dot Place in Colorado Springs, Colorado, has bike-friendly amenities that have supported project success. Learn more.
Over the past few decades, the Dutch city of Amsterdam has transformed itself into a biking nirvana, with reduced traffic congestion and new development opportunities. Learn how the city made it happen.

To find more active transportation project profiles, visit uli.org/activetransportation. To read about healthy housing projects, visit uli.org/healthyhousing.

Housing Awards

Nominate a healthy housing project or policy initiative for one of ULI’s housing awards before applications close on March 5:

The Jack Kemp Excellence in Affordable and Workforce Housing Awards honor exemplary housing projects that demonstrate creativity in expanding housing opportunities for America’s working families and ensure housing affordability for people with a range of incomes. Learn more.
The Robert C. Larson Housing Policy Leadership Awards recognize exemplary state and local programs, policies, and practices that support the production, rehabilitation, or preservation of affordable and workforce housing. Learn more.

New from Urban Land

Use of PACE Financing for Renovations, Construction Growing for Commercial Buildings – Bendix Anderson
Five Priorities Identified to Catalyze Development on Boston’s Proposed North-South Rail Link – Archana Pyati
ULI Europe’s Affordable Housing Game – Elizabeth Rapoport
Costs, Resistance to Denser Development Holding Markets Like San Diego Back – Kevin Brass
Moody’s: Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation Could Affect Cities’ Bond Ratings – Billy Grayson

In the News

How 3 Different Towns Are Creating Safer, Slower Streets –Strong Towns
America’s Worst Parking Crater Could Become Denver’s Next Human-Scale Neighborhood – Streetsblog Denver
Agrihoods: A Food-Real Estate Symbiosis – Multi-Housing News
The High Line’s Next Balancing Act – City Lab
How to Design Cities for Children – City Lab
Instead of a Wall, Why Not a Binational Border Bikeshare? – City Lab