This guide, brought to you by the Terwilliger Center for Housing, offers a curated list of events taking place at the ULI 2023 Fall Meeting in Los Angeles that will address affordable housing and homelessness. With detailed descriptions, dates, and times (all in PT), you can plan your schedule and maximize your experience while in L.A.

For the most detailed and up-to-date information about these events and the rest of the Fall Meeting, please visit the official Fall Meeting website.

Please join us at these ULI Homeless to Housed activities:

• Tue, Oct 31: Film Screening + Discussion: The Invisible Class | 7:30 – 10:00pm
• Wed, Nov 1: ULI Homeless to Housed Symposium | 2:30 – 4:00pm
• Thu, Nov 2: Homeless to Housed: Cost Effective + Rapidly Deployable | 2:00 – 2:30pm

We also recommend these related offerings:

• Tue, Oct 31: Housing Solutions from the Front Lines of Cities | 2:30 – 3:30pm
• Tue, Oct 31: 2023 ULI Housing Awards Winners | 3:30 – 4:00pm
• Wed, Nov 1: L.A.’s New Housing Policy: Will It Work? | 10:30 – 11:30am
• Thu, Nov 2: Morning Group Run | 6:30 – 8:00am
• Thu, Nov 2: Transforming Downtowns into Mixed-Use, Mixed-Income Neighborhoods | 10:30 – 11:30am
• Thu, Nov 2: Confronting Homelessness and Accelerating Implementation | 1:00 – 2:00pm

Note: All listed program and activities, except for tours, are open to all registered Fall Meeting attendees.

Monday, October 30

Transforming South LA | 8:15 – 12:15pm | Separate registration required
Unprecedented public and private investment and coalition-building have set the stage for major economic development opportunities in South Los Angeles, particularly in the last eight years since the community’s Federal Promise Zone designation. This tour will explore a variety of catalytic projects ranging from L.A. Metro’s “Rail to Rail” (creating a walking and biking path from Slauson Metro Station to the Los Angeles River), The Beehive (the nation’s first Opportunity Zone business campus), and mixed-use affordable housing developments at the Evermont and Jordan Downs.

Hope and Resilience in Skid Row: Exploring Efforts to Address Homelessness in Downtown L.A. | 8:30 – 10:30am | Separate registration required
Skid Row is a neighborhood in downtown Los Angeles, home to a large homeless population. One of the main issues facing this community is the lack of affordable and supportive housing. Despite ongoing efforts to provide housing solutions, the demand far outstrips the available supply. Many homeless individuals are forced to live in overcrowded shelters or on the streets, where they are exposed to the elements, violence, disease, and other dangers.

In recent years, several initiatives have aimed at increasing access to housing for those living on Skid Row. For example, the city has established a number of permanent supportive housing facilities, which provide a roof over residents’ heads and access to services such as health care, counseling, and job training. This tour will visit projects developed to support those in need.

Creating Affordable Housing in Marina Del Rey with Thatcher Yard | 9:30am – 12:30pm | Separate registration required
This tour will showcase how the Thatcher Yard project preserves the Marina Del Rey neighborhood’s character while providing affordable and permanent supportive housing in a high-resource zone, where average home prices are upwards of $1.3 million. The construction site is directly adjacent to high-end single-family homes. As you can imagine, gaining community support was challenging, but through a thoughtful design solution and effective community outreach, the team was able to successfully integrate the residence into the neighborhood.

Tuesday, October 31

Addressing the Housing Crisis through an Integrated Approach | 1:00 – 2:00pm
The affordable/attainable housing crisis has reached a critical stage, not only in California, but also across the country. Big, bold, and implementable ideas must be coordinated across the public and private sectors. Our panelists will discuss integrated approaches toward creating vibrant, mixed-use, transit-oriented, and walkable developments that represent Urban Nodes in Suburbia (UNiS). Learn how to use respectful consensus-building approaches to overcome the hurdles associated with large-scale mixed-use developments that emphasize the principals of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and environmental, social, and governance (ESG).

A Unique Model for Community/City Investment and Implementation: the Gowanus (Brooklyn) Experience | 2:30 – 3:30pm
In November 2021, the New York City Council approved the Gowanus Neighborhood Rezoning Plan, promising to add 8,500 new apartments in the neighborhood by 2035. As part of the rezoning agreement, the city also made a historic commitment to 56 Points of Agreement (POAs), community-designed investments in housing, infrastructure, public spaces, and small businesses totaling nearly $450 million, including $200 million for the needs of local public housing residents. Taken together, they could have a profound positive effect on the quality of life for Gowanus residents, workers, and visitors for decades to come. 

Housing Solutions from the Front Lines of Cities, Designers, and Affordable Developers | 2:30 – 3:30pm
How to innovate out of the housing crisis: solutions include the following: transformation by the Anaheim Housing Authority of a remnant freeway right-of-way into marquee affordable housing, including community-serving supportive services (daycare, medical, and children’s mental health); and “The Essential”—a 12-story, high-density modular concept integrating services and shared living on a tight site on Skid Row, this interactive program will include a close look at both policy (how can programs such as L.A.’s Measure HHH improve) and practices (how modular design reduces costs and construction time). A journalistic overview will assess regional progress and the newest solutions.

2023 ULI Housing Awards Winners | 3:30 – 4:00 pm
Please join us for the announcement of the 2023 ULI housing awards winners and learn about the winning projects from the teams that made them happen! Click here for more information on ULI’s housing awards program.

Homeless to Housed: Film Screening + Discussion | 7:30 – 10:00pm | LA Convention Center, Theater 411
Join ULI’s Homeless to Housed (H2H) Initiative for the documentary film The Invisible Class: The Story of Homelessness in America, followed by an informal group discussion. Released in 2020, the film takes a grassroots approach to exploring the systematic causes of homelessness. Classic movie-style refreshments, including popcorn, candy, and sodas, will be available to the first 50 attendees. The film contains strong language and adult themes – viewer discretion advised.

Wednesday, November 1

L.A.’s New Housing Policy: Will It Work? | 10:30 – 11:30am
What is the latest policy to combat homelessness and the lack of affordable housing in Los Angeles, home to the largest homeless population in the nation? Issued December 16, 2022, Executive Directive 1 (ED 1) is a groundbreaking new policy to streamline approvals for housing projects. It provides ministerial approval for shelter projects and 100 percent affordable projects. Hear from representatives from the city as to their ideas behind the directive in addition to developers who use the policy to add housing.

Innovative Dwellings: Lessons Learned Creating Affordable Infill Housing | 1:00 – 2:00pm
Innovative Dwellings creates affordable infill housing by identifying opportunities for development in physical and financial spaces often overlooked. We will review our challenges and lessons learned while creating affordable infill housing in the form of accessory dwelling units, container housing, panelized and modular construction, adaptive reuse, and more. And we will also discuss the addition of on-site service provision for tenants from special-needs populations (i.e., veterans, unhoused, reentry, or recovery). Innovative Dwellings is a pilot program funded by the Wells Fargo Foundation and operated by Volunteers of America National Services. Presenting partners include Volunteers of America, YardHomesMN, and Durham Community Land Trustees.

ULI Homeless to Housed Symposium | 2:30 – 4:00 pm | LA Convention Center, Room 403A | Special Program
Don’t miss the inaugural ULI Homeless to Housed (H2H) Symposium. Learn why homelessness is a real estate issue and help define the role of ULI and the private sector in addressing this growing economic and humanitarian crisis. This dynamic focused session promises innovative perspectives and actionable takeaways, equipping you to make a tangible impact in your community. 

 Thursday, November 2