News from the ULI Building Healthy Places Initiative: March 2017

March 28, 2017

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

ULI Introduces New Health Leaders Network Opportunity

ULI is beginning a new program, the ULI Health Leaders Network, to empower real estate and land use professionals with the skills, knowledge, and networks to improve health outcomes in their professional practice and communities. Participants will gain valuable skills and connections that will help them advance their careers, as well as practical knowledge about the intersection between health and the built environment. Are you passionate about health and want to share your knowledge and excitement with others? Join the Health Leaders Network!

Learn more here. Apply by June 2 here.

Building Healthy Places at the Spring Meeting

ULI’s 2017 Spring Meeting, May 2-4 in Seattle, will provide many opportunities to examine health and real estate. Several events will explore the topic, including an information session on the new ULI Health Leaders Network (mark your calendar for Wednesday, 10:30-11:30 a.m) and a special program titled “The Silicon Valley of Saving the World,” centered on the relationship between real estate and Seattle’s leadership in promoting global health. Learn more.

New Project Profiles Highlight Interconnections between Bicycling and Real Estate and Showcase Healthy Housing

The Building Healthy Places Initiative has released four new project profiles—two focused on active transportation and the growing synergies between real estate development and bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure investments, and two focused on mixed-income housing developments that promote health.

Read about the bike projects here and learn more about the housing projects here.

Don’t forget! The Building Healthy Places Toolkit website is updated frequently with new case studies and information.

Via6: Bike-friendly amenities have supported project success at a 654-unit mixed-use apartment complex in downtown Seattle.
US 36 Bikeway: An 18-mile off-road path in Colorado is beginning to spur adjacent “trail-oriented development.”
High Point: A 129-acre mixed-income redevelopment project in Seattle is reducing the risk and severity of asthma through home design and is leveraging green infrastructure for health.
Mariposa: A mixed-income redevelopment project in Denver features pedestrian- and bike-friendly design and a focus on gardening and food.

New from Urban Land

Calculating the Cost of Excess Parking in Transit-Oriented Developments—Beth Mattson-Teig
Reversing the Decline in California’s Workforce Housing—Patricia Kirk
How San Diego’s Smart City Tech Is Reducing Traffic, Saving Energy—Patricia Kirk
Four Teams Selected as Finalists in ULI Hines Student Competition—Trisha Riggs

What We’re Reading

The Case for Healthy Places: Improving Health Outcomes through Placemaking—Project for Public Spaces
Four Ways Artists Can Help Heal Communities—Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Can an Office Building Make You Healthier and More Productive?—Boston Globe
In Chicago and Philadelphia, the Difference a Park Makes—New York Times
How Vancouver Became North America’s Car-Free Capital—City Lab