2023 Summer Issue of Urban Land - 30

developments
developments
able catchments. This made an
affordable lifestyle possible in
urban communities.
The U.S. development industry
is now being fueled by $3
trillion in federal infrastructure
funds through 2030, covering
mobility, community, environment,
and energy infrastructure.
The ability to work from
home, the values of generation
Z, and a number of government
initiatives have shifted
real estate decisions toward
building dense, walkable,
mixed-use communities that
decarbonize development, conserve
land, improve health, and
bridge the gap in affordability
and social equity.
Aligning Leadership
Actions
To help address the need for
guidance on how to develop
such communities, I wrote
the new ULI report Building
15-Minute Communities:
A Leadership Guide, which
provides a fresh approach to
leadership, making it clear-as
specified by Jim Fisher in his
2016 book The Thoughtful
Leader- " what needs to be
done, why it should be done,
and how each person can contribute. "
A conversation tool
with community-scale illustrations,
the report has sections
providing focus for leaders in
the public, private, and nonprofit
spheres to help them
set agendas, ask the right
questions, and seize opportunities
to achieve a collective
outcome.
The guide is based on five
forces for change:
1. Align leadership actions
with innovative initiatives.
Implement 30x30 Conservation
by expanding parks and open
30
URBAN LAND SUMMER 2023
spaces, the Justice 40 Initiative
by filling transit and service
gaps, Healthy People 2030
by building healthy communities,
and the Paris agreement's
target of reducing greenhouse
gas emissions by 50 percent
by 2030 by decarbonizing the
supply chain and developing
new energy technologies.
2. Combine actions to streamline
infrastructure delivery.
Using funds allocated through
the Infrastructure and Investment
Jobs Act (IIJA), create
multifunction districts for metropolitan
regions and 15-minute
communities (where housing
and basic needs can be met
within a half mile [0.8 km]
walk), form joint ventures or
community partnerships, fund
projects end-to-end, and combine
infrastructure delivery.
3. Combine actions to make
infrastructure multifunctional.
Co-locate multiple services
with schools in community
hubs, combine flood protection
with park facilities, and create
synergies among renewable
energy, waste reduction, and
nature-based solutions.
4. Combine actions to build
15-minute communities. Take
the following actions:
Decarbonize metro regions
through creation of a network
of 15-minute communities;
Diversify central business
districts to create decarbonized,
affordable, live-in downtowns;
Humanize
edge cities to
create heat-proof, all-agesfriendly
communities;
Densify suburban corridors
to become walkable, mixeduse
innovation districts;
Transform suburban malls
into transit- and trail-oriented
mixed-use communities; and
Activate exurbs as a working
landscape of agrihoods
and nature-based solutions.
5. Combine actions to bring
infrastructure to life. Using a
human-centered lens, incorporate
siloed infrastructure into
an integrated system through
the following areas of focus:
One vision-shared environmental,
social, and governance
strategy (ESG) in the city:
Build digital regional and community-scale
three-dimensional
models for multijurisdictional
planning development integration,
infrastructure upgrades,
phasing coordination, and
community improvement.
One environment-nature in
the city: Combine open space,
flood and drought protection,
Building 15-Minute Communities: A Leadership Guide offers
strategies for downtowns, suburban corridors, edge cities,
exurbs, and shopping malls.
Y V ONNE YEUNG/ULI
2023 Summer Issue of Urban Land

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of 2023 Summer Issue of Urban Land
