Advisory Services Panel

The panel focused on the connection between health and land use. ULI was contracted through The Colorado Health Foundation to provide advice on public health issues through Healthy Places: Designing an Active Colorado initiative. The city of Lamar, CO was selected through a competitive process by the foundation to participate in the ASP program, as the city demonstrated readiness and ability to engage its stakeholders in identifying and addressing improvements to the built environments that encourage active living.

The panel’s primary responsibility was to evaluate the economically viable and mutually beneficial activities in and surrounding the market, and provide a strategy and recommendations

Washington, DC city planners and community leaders launched the Anacostia Waterfront Initiative (AWI) in March of 2000 and developed a revitalization vision plan for the area. This vision plan encompassed a memorandum of understanding between the city and the 19 local, regional, and federal agencies with interests along the Anacostia waterfront. Because the project involved an extensive waterfront redevelopment effort that could transform Washington, DC, a unique ULI Advisory Services Blue Ribbon Team was convened consisting of “internationally recognized waterfront redevelopment experts” from numerous disciplines.

The panel’s assignment was to formulate a plan to revitalize the Southwest Center Mall by exploring alternative uses for the anchor stores, studying the feasibility of mixed uses, and considering the desirability of civic and public uses to contribute to a sense of place at the Southwest Center Mall area. The panel also considered strategies for public investment through public/ private partnerships to address the challenging economic and infrastructure needs. Finally, the panel was charged with formulating implementation strategies for achieving its recommendations.

The assistance of a ULI Advisory Services Panel was requested to assess the effectiveness of the UC Merced long-range development plan in order to achieve the university’s vision and goals for the campus and the associated University community. In addition, the Panel was asked to think about how the campus could play an important long-term role in regional economic diversification, provide a model for long-term planning that prevents urban sprawl and conserves important natural resources and farmland, and ensure that the development adheres to regional conservation goals and mitigation programs to protect natural resources.

Initial outreach was provided by the Cincinnati Department of Economic Development and the Over-the-Rhine Foundation who requested ULI’s partnership in gathering 12 outside experts to develop a strategy to address neighborhood concerns. These experts, in collaboration with a steering committee of 30 neighborhood residents, developers, businesses, and organizations, had three objectives: Address the need for consensus building and strong leadership that can move the community from planning to implementation and action; Develop a comprehensive housing and economic development strategy for the area; and Recommend strategies for public and private sector funding.