Urban Land Institute - Influence On Policy and Practice

Influence On Policy and Practice

Through its many programs, ULI has influenced policy and practice for decades. The institute does not lobby, but instead works with its members and conducts research in order to identify land use and urban development challenges. According to a 2005 issue of the Journal of Association Leadership, ULI "taps into the experience and expertise of its members to advance real estate development practice and to change the urban landscape using many of the principles identified in The Wisdom of Crowds to solve problems — cognition, cooperation, and coordination problems." With a membership representing "26 disciplines and 13 industry sectors, working in the public interest and private enterprise, the institute documents best practice by aggregating members’ collective wisdom and structures communities of practice as self-organizing systems."

Since the middle of the 20th century, ULI has been hired by city governments and private land owners to tackle local real estate and development problems. These multidisciplinary teams - consisting of members with expertise in architecture, urban planning, transportation consulting, finance, and market trends - have had many of their recommendations adopted or implemented. The institute's local district councils, have provided events for government officials and private industry leaders to deliberate about future land use challenges and have also established an UrbanPlan classroom-based curriculum that been widely adopted by schools across the United States. In addition, ULI has taken part in a number of partnerships in order to provide leadership and awareness in urban development practices, including one with the World Economic Forum (WEF).