Center Helps Public Officials Solve Urban Development, Community Building Challenges

For more information, contact:
Trish Riggs (ULI) at 202-624-7086
Gregory Minchak (NLC) at 202-626-3003

WASHINGTON (November 14, 2014) — The Urban Land Institute (ULI) and the National League of Cities (NLC), which collectively represent the world’s foremost real estate professionals and the nation’s most distinguished municipal leaders, have signed a partnership agreement to jointly guide the oversight and operations of the Rose Center for Public Leadership.

The Rose Center was established in 2008 with a grant from ULI Foundation Governor Daniel Rose to encourage and support excellence in land use decision making by local governments. The Rose Center seeks to foster creative, efficient, practical and sustainable land use policies by providing public officials with access to information, best practices, peer networks and other resources. “The enthusiasm of our fellow participants across the nation have more than confirmed our early hopes and expectations,” Rose said.

NLC will become the operating partner of the Rose Center on January 1, 2015. The Rose Center Advisory Board, which will be expanded to include NLC members, will continue to provide guidance to the center. “We are eager to build on the successes of the last six years. The joint resources of the two organizations that set the standards for excellence in the public and private sectors will reinforce our strengths and allow us to expand the Rose Center’s scope and reach,” said Advisory Board Chairman Joseph Rose.

“This partnership brings together ULI’s unparalleled expertise in land use and development with NLC’s proven prowess in public leadership,” said ULI Global Chief Executive Officer Patrick L. Phillips. “It’s a wonderful opportunity for us to share knowledge with an esteemed organization of public officials who share our commitment to creating thriving, sustainable communities.”

“This partnership between ULI and NLC will allow the Rose Center to bolster its great work and to bring its insights to a wider audience of city officials,” said NLC Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director Clarence E. Anthony. “We are very excited to connect our members to ULI’s land use expertise and to be working with the Rose family to make our cities and towns centers of opportunity for our residents.”

The flagship program of the Rose Center is the Daniel Rose Fellowship program, which provides city leaders with the insights, peer-to-peer learning, and analysis needed to successfully improve their cities. The fellowship process begins with the selection of four mayors, each of which nominates three additional fellows to serve on their city’s fellowship team. The mayors’ team members are made up of city department leaders or public agency directors with land use decision-making authority.  The Fellowship’s program of work includes a study tour of another U.S. or foreign city, a working retreat, and study visits to each of the four fellowship cities.

Since its inception, the Rose Center has worked with mayors’ teams in 20 cities across the United States: Austin, Texas; Charlotte, North Carolina.; Detroit; Hartford, Connecticut; Honolulu; Houston; Indianapolis; Kansas City, Missouri; Louisville, Kentucky; Minneapolis; Memphis; Nashville; Oakland, California; Philadelphia; Phoenix; Portland, Oregon; Providence, Rhode Island; Sacramento, California; Tacoma, Washington; and Tampa, Florida.

The center works with the fellows to solve a broad range of urban design and development challenges. In previous years, it has addressed issues such as revitalizing obsolete industrial corridors with flexible land uses to attract new employers; integrating anchor institutions into the surrounding community; and improving pedestrian and bicycle connections between downtown neighborhoods.

The 2014 – 2015 class of Rose Center fellows, selected earlier this fall by the Rose Center Advisory Board, will be announced next week during the National League of Cities 2014 Congress of Cities and Exposition in Austin.

“This partnership bolsters the exact bridge between public and private leaders that the Rose Center was created to build,” said Rose Center Executive Director Jess Zimbabwe.  “We’ll be able to bring together leaders from both sectors for important conversations about the future of our cities.”

Over the years, the Rose Center has hosted several workshops and forums on various aspects of community building in cities across the country, including the annual ULI Charles H. Shaw Forum on Urban Issues. Last summer, the Shaw Forum explored reviving urban corridors at a convening in Charlotte, N.C.

About the Urban Land Institute
The Urban Land Institute (uli.org) is a global nonprofit education and research institute supported by its members. Its mission is to provide leadership in the responsible use of land and in creating and sustaining thriving communities worldwide. Established in 1936, the institute has nearly 33,000 members representing all aspects of land use and development disciplines.

About the National League of Cities
The National League of Cities (NLC) is dedicated to helping city leaders build better communities. NLC is a resource and advocate for 19,000 cities, towns and villages, representing more than 218 million Americans.