About the ULI Europe Awards for Excellence

A guiding principle of the Urban Land Institute is that the achievement of excellence in land use practice should be recognised and rewarded. In accordance with this, ULI initiated the Global Awards for Excellence programme in 1979 to recognise truly superior development efforts in the private, public, and non-profit sectors.  

In 2020, we extended the global awards programme to honour projects on a regional basis with the launch of the ULI Europe Awards for Excellence, which recognise outstanding urban development projects in the private, public and non-profit sectors, located in the EMEA countries.  

Submissions are open to all, not just ULI members.  

The Awards for Excellence recognise the full development process of a project: planning, construction, economic viability, management, and community impact, as well as design.  

The jury evaluates projects and programmes on the extent to which they: 

• achieve market acceptance/financial success;  
• demonstrate leadership through a high standard of excellence in all areas—architecture, design, planning, construction, amenities, economics, and management, etc.;  
• demonstrate relevance to the contemporary and future needs of the community in which they are located; 
• have a positive impact in their communities and/or immediate context;  
• exhibit environmental sustainability, stewardship, and resiliency; and  
• provide models, lessons, strategies, or techniques that can be replicated in or adapted to other communities.

The winning projects in EMEA will automatically be entered into the ULI Global Awards for Excellence. 

In addition to the Award for Excellence winners, the jury will consider Special Mentions for those that demonstrate excellence in any of the areas focused on by ULI’s three mission priorities:  

• Decarbonising the real estate sector and accelerating our progress to net zero  
• Increasing housing attainability in communities around the world  
• Educating the next generation of diverse real estate leaders