Skip to Content

ULI Global

  1. Global
    1. ULI Global
    2. Americas
    3. Asia Pacific
    4. Europe
  2. Knowledge Finder

    Explore our latest research and best practices

    For Members Only

  3. Member Directory

    Connect with members around the world

    For Members Only

  4. Navigator

    Find ULI opportunities to lead and volunteer

    For Members Only

    1. Urban Land Magazine
    2. ULI Foundation
    3. ULI Learning
  1. Donate
  2. Contact
Join ULI
ULI Americas

Main Menu

  • About ULI About ULI
    • Overview
    • Mission & Commitment
    • Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI)
    • Contact Us
    • Staff Directory
    • ULI Career Opportunities
    • Leadership & Governance
    • Press Room
    • Advertising & Sponsorship
    • Annual Report
  • Events Events
    • Overview
    • Upcoming Events
    • ULI Americas Digital Program
    • Housing Opportunity
    • Spring Meeting
    • Fall Meeting
  • Membership Membership
    • Overview
    • Join ULI
    • Refer a Member
    • Corporate Partnerships
    • Benefits
    • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Code of Ethics
  • Councils Councils
    • Overview
    • District Councils
    • Product Councils
    • ULI Forums
  • Programs Programs
    • Overview
    • Advisory Services
    • Awards & Competitions
    • Career Center
    • ULI Learning
    • UrbanPlan
    • Leadership Network
  • Research Research
    • Overview
    • Case Studies
    • Centers & Initiatives
    • Climate & Energy
    • Economy & Capital
    • Infrastructure
    • Housing
    • Planning & Design
    • Public Sector
  • Publications Publications
    • Overview
    • Urban Land Magazine
    • Bookstore
    • Case Studies
ULI Americas

Search

Full Menu

ULI Americas

ULI Global

  • ULI Global
  • Americas
  • Asia Pacific
  • Europe
Knowledge Finder Explore our latest research and best practices Member Directory Connect with members around the world Navigator Find ULI opportunities to lead and volunteer

More

  • More
    • Urban Land Magazine
    • ULI Foundation
    • ULI Learning

Search

Main Menu

  • About ULI About ULI
    • Overview
    • Mission & Commitment
    • Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI)
    • Contact Us
    • Staff Directory
    • ULI Career Opportunities
    • Leadership & Governance
    • Press Room
    • Advertising & Sponsorship
    • Annual Report
  • Events Events
    • Overview
    • Upcoming Events
    • ULI Americas Digital Program
    • Housing Opportunity
    • Spring Meeting
    • Fall Meeting
  • Membership Membership
    • Overview
    • Join ULI
    • Refer a Member
    • Corporate Partnerships
    • Benefits
    • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Code of Ethics
  • Councils Councils
    • Overview
    • District Councils
    • Product Councils
    • ULI Forums
  • Programs Programs
    • Overview
    • Advisory Services
    • Awards & Competitions
    • Career Center
    • ULI Learning
    • UrbanPlan
    • Leadership Network
  • Research Research
    • Overview
    • Case Studies
    • Centers & Initiatives
    • Climate & Energy
    • Economy & Capital
    • Infrastructure
    • Housing
    • Planning & Design
    • Public Sector
  • Publications Publications
    • Overview
    • Urban Land Magazine
    • Bookstore
    • Case Studies
Donate Contact Join ULI
  1. Research
  2. Centers & Initiatives
  3. Building Healthy Places Initiative
  4. Parks and Open Spaces

Parks Technical Assistance

ULI hosts Advisory Services and Technical Assistance panels centered on parks, with goals that include:

  • Promoting and improving equitable access to parks
  • Identifying solutions to local park challenges
  • Exploring opportunities for cities, towns, residents, and the real estate industry to support and benefit from park investments

Advisory Services Panels (ASPs) are typically five-day-long convenings of national panelists to tackle local challenges. ASPs bring together the best and brightest from ULI’s diverse membership, including developers, planners, park professionals, market analysts, designers, public officials, and others, to provide practical solutions and objective advice not available from any other source.

Technical Assistance Panels (TAPs) are typically one-and-a-half-day sessions in which multidisciplinary teams of five to eight real estate development professionals tour the site under review, interview local stakeholders, and meet to develop recommendations that are presented publicly at the end of the session and in a follow-up report.

ULI previously offered National Study Visits (NSVs) to support cities in advancing their park access goals. Through NSVs, communities worked together with ULI District Councils and national experts, to better understand park challenges and identify strategies to overcome park access barriers and park quality deficiencies.

Advisory Services Panels on Parks

Report Description Date
Meridian, Idaho (report forthcoming) Explores strategies to bridge gaps in the existing trail network, with a focus on the city’s rapid growth. August 2022
Denver, Colorado (report forthcoming) Centers on reimagining Speer Boulevard--a major downtown thoroughfare--with a focus on parks and trails, pedestrian safety, and equitable economic development. July 2022
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (report forthcoming) Focuses on equitable funding strategies and community needs related to the vast and under-resourced West Fairmount Park. May 2022
Charlotte, North Carolina (report forthcoming) Explores possibilities for open space in Charlotte’s North End. October 2021
Norfolk, Virginia Provides strategic recommendations for the Elizabeth River Trail, including how to leverage the trail to ensure it is a diverse, equitable, and inclusive community asset that supports economic and climate resilience. July 2021
Ada County, Idaho Analyzes multiple scenarios for the revitalization and potential development of the 247-acre Expo Idaho site. June 2021
Kansas City, Missouri Provides recommendations to the Kansas City, Missouri Parks and Recreation Department on the creation of an equitable park system. December 2019
Fort Lauderdale Provides recommendations on how to enhance parks and open space in the city’s urban core, and how to develop a new vision for Downtown’s most prominent park, Huizenga Plaza. October 2019
Austin, Texas Makes recommendations to The Trail Foundation and the City of Austin Parks and Recreation Department on the feasibility of transferring the operation of the Ann and Roy Butler Hike-and-Bike Trail at Lady Bird Lake to The Trail Foundation. August 2019
The Hemisfair in San Antonio, Texas Provides strategic advice on the transformation of the eastern portion of the Hemisfair World's Fair site into an urban district with park space that serves as a focal point for the community. April 2019
Detroit, Michigan Considers strategies related to suitable financial methods and models to support the city’s growing portfolio of parks, open space, and trails. April 2019
The Stitch in Atlanta, Georgia Shares recommendations for "the Stitch," a concept to reclaim approximately 14 acres of urban greenspace atop a new platform structure over the I-75/85 Downtown Connector, an Interstate that bisects Atlanta’s downtown. February 2019
Sacramento, California Makes recommendations to the Sacramento Area Council of Governments (SACOG) and its partners about future land-use and development scenarios around two transit stations in South Sacramento, including opportunities to provide new park space. September 2018
St. Paul, Minnesota (Rondo neighborhood) Provides recommendations related to the development of a “freeway lid” to link neighborhoods adjacent to Interstate 94 with a park or series of parks that straddle the freeway. March 2018

Articles Highlighting Park-Focused Advisory Services Panels 

“Creating Funding Mechanisms for a Revived Fairmount Park in Philadelphia.”  Urban Land, June 23, 2022.

“ULI Advisory Services Panel Charts Path for More Equitable Kansas City Parks System.” Urban Land, December 11, 2019.

“Finding a Funding Solution to Maintain Detroit’s Parks,” Urban Land, May 2, 2019.

“To Woo Millennials, Atlanta Considers Covering Highways With Parks,” The Wall Street Journal, January 1, 2019.

“The Urban Land Institute To Advise Central Atlanta Progress On Planning And Development Of The ‘Stitch,’ A Proposal For Vibrant Park Space Along I-75 And I-85 Connector,” Saporta Report, February 18, 2019.

“Planning for Equitable Transit-Oriented Development in Sacramento,” Urban Land, November 12, 2018.

“How to connect and heal St. Paul’s Rondo neighborhood,” Star Tribune, February 16, 2021.

“Deck parks’ restore community ties in neighborhoods divided by highways,” The Christian Science Monitor, July 30, 2018.

“Reconnecting a Bisected Neighborhood in St. Paul, Minnesota,” Urban Land, March 29, 2018.

“Fired up about Rondo’: Land-bridge concept for St. Paul neighborhood gets a boost,” Minnesota Post, March 28, 2018.

“Support builds for bridge over I-94 in St. Paul’s Rondo neighborhood,” Star Tribune, March 24, 2018.

Technical Assistance Panels and National Study Visits

Report Description Location/District Council Date
Grand Rapids, Michigan Focuses on developing a land acquisition strategy to support equitable park access. Grand Rapids, MI March 2019
Lewisville, Texas (The Triangle) Focuses on strategies to ensure park access and connectivity for existing and future residents of "The Triangle," a community bounded by highways and arterial roadways. Lewisville, TX March 2019
Camden, New Jersey (Cramer Hill) Provides recommendations for marketing, programming, governing, and maximizing the benefits of a new 62-acre park space on the site of a former landfill. Camden, NJ October 2019
Los Angeles, California (Boyle Heights) Provides guidance on improving park quality and access in the Boyle Heights neighborhood, including via strategic alignment among city departments and agencies. Los Angeles, CA November 2019
Memphis, Tennessee (South Memphis) Centers on how to leverage existing parks to improve community and economic development and community cohesion. Memphis, TN January 2020
Lynnwood, Washington (City Center) Focuses on the role of parks and the public realm within the vision for City Center--where a new light rail stop is expected to attract additional residents to an area currently characterized by parking lots and strip malls. Lynnwood, WA February 2020

Contact Us

ULI Global
  • Member Directory
  • Join ULI
  • Career Center
  • Foundation

Customer Service

Phone: 1-800-321-5011

Email: [email protected]

ULI Americas

URBAN LAND INSTITUTE AMERICAS
2001 L STREET, NW
SUITE 200
WASHINGTON, DC 20036-4948

Mission Statement

The mission of the Urban Land Institute:
Shape the future of the built environment for transformative impact in communities worldwide

Footer Links

About ULI

  • Mission & Priorities
  • Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI)
  • Contact Us
  • Staff Directory
  • ULI Career Opportunities
  • Leadership & Governance
  • Advertising & Sponsorship
  • Press Room
  • Annual Report

Events

  • Upcoming Events
  • ULI Americas Digital Program
  • Spring Meeting
  • Fall Meeting

Membership

  • Join ULI
  • Refer a Member
  • ULI Subscriber
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Benefits
  • Code of Ethics

Councils

  • District Councils
  • Product Councils
  • ULI Forums – Old – Spring 2022

Programs

  • Advisory Services
  • Awards & Competitions
  • Career Center
  • ULI Learning (opens new window)
  • UrbanPlan
  • Leadership Network

Research

  • Case Studies
  • Centers & Initiatives
  • Climate & Energy
  • Economy & Capital
  • Housing
  • Curtis Infrastructure Initiative
  • Planning & Design
  • Public Sector

Publications

  • Urban Land Magazine
  • Bookstore
  • Case Studies
  • Marketplace
Facebook. Will open in a new window. Twitter. Will open in a new window. LinkedIn. Will open in a new window. . Will open in a new window. YouTube. Will open in a new window.

©2023 Urban Land Institute. All Rights Reserved. Legal Notices

Sign in with your ULI account to get started

Forgot password?

Don’t have an account? Sign up for a ULI guest account.