ULI Europe has a diverse and exciting programme of content scheduled for 2017:

Mass Migration

At the 2017 ULI Europe Conference in Paris, we debuted the initial findings of our research on how mass migration affects cities and what the real estate industry can do to respond.  The results were showcased in an animated video that is available in our online video library. The full report will be launched at the ULI Germany Urban Leader Summit on 26-27 April 2017. The research is overseen by a steering group made up of ULI members from Germany, Sweden, the UK, Italy, the Netherlands, Austria, Turkey and Greece. 
 
 
 

Density

Our ongoing density work in partnership with the New Climate Economy will launch later this spring. The report, Supporting Smart Urban Growth: Successful Investing in Density, explores the relationship between urban development patterns and financial and environmental benefits. The research will objectively evaluate the impact of investment in compact, connected urban development on investment returns for real estate investors, costs per resident for the public sector, and carbon emissions.

Affordable Housing

ULI Europe has also focused on housing affordability this year. The pan-European Residential Council launched a vision statement in February, which outlines the causes and consequences of housing affordability issues and provides aspirations for a future programme of work that the Council wishes to undertake in Europe in the next 3 years. The Council is now developing content around housing affordability and best practice case studies for 2018 ULI Europe conference in Berlin. 

In addition, ULI Ireland, ULI France, and ULI Netherlands recently won a ULI Urban Innovation Grant to tackle the housing affordability challenge through a city gaming exercise. The game will include visualised data sets and geographical information to help players make informed decisions while reevaluating perspectives in a variety of situations. It will bring together representatives of the public and private sectors in each of the cities to address a specific affordable housing–related challenge. The gaming workshops will take place this summer in Amsterdam, Dublin, and Bordeaux. Lessons learned from the workshops, including best practices for affordable housing across Europe, will be published at the end of 2017. There is also potential to roll out these gaming workshops to other cities in 2018.

International Business Districts

ULI and EY are jointly examining what makes international business districts attractive in the context of global economic, demographic and lifestyle changes, and how districts adapt to remain competitive. An online survey will be sent later this month, and interviews with experts on global business districts and practitioners will also be held. The report, which will include assessments of business districts, will be released in September 2017 and presented at the ULI Fall Meeting in Los Angeles in October 2017.

Other Projects

ULI Europe is currently developing new content projects on cybersecurity and the future of shopping centres, and we are always open to welcoming new ideas that will benefit our members. If you would like to suggest a research topic, please contact us.

This post was written by Amanprit Arnold, Content Manager, ULI Europe