Mission and Vision

ULI’s mission is to provide leadership in the responsible use of land and in creating and sustaining thriving communities worldwide.

We are committed to:

• Bring together leaders from across the fields of real estate and land use policy to exchange best practices and serve community needs.
• Foster collaboration within and beyond ULI’s membership through mentoring, dialogue and problem-solving.
• Explore issues of urbanization, conservation, regeneration, land use, capital formation, and sustainable development.
• Advance land use policies and design practices that respect the uniqueness of both built and natural environments.
• Share knowledge through education, applied research, publishing, and electronic media.
• Sustain a diverse global network of local practice and advisory efforts that address current and future challenges.

The Urban Land Institute was founded in 1936, when many American cities were experiencing both suburban expansion and urban decay, with limited public sector planning and no guidance available to the private sector. No organization existed in the country to research, analyze, or encourage responsible patterns for long-term urban growth, or to conduct inquiries into what constitutes sound real estate development projects and practices. These circumstances led Cincinnati real estate entrepreneur Walter Schmidt and six other prominent community builders to petition the National Association of Real Estate Boards (the forerunner of today’s National Association of Realtors) to establish a separate research institute within NAREB. This proved to be too limiting, and in 1940, ULI became a completely independent institute.

Born during the Great Depression, the Urban Land Institute had original objectives that were very similar to its guiding principles today. These early objectives were: to study and interpret real estate trends; to examine principles through which private enterprise could effectively develop real estate; to develop a body of knowledge in real estate and allied subjects; to publish informative texts and technical journals based on that knowledge; and to act as a statistical clearinghouse for the dissemination of real estate data. The Institute’s continuing focus on nonpartisan research and education has made it one of the world’s most respected and quoted organizations in urban planning, land use, and development.

ULI membership has grown from 230 members at its start to over 32,000 members in over 80 countries. Through the direction and support of its members, the Institute is well positioned to provide responsible leadership in the use of land.

“District Councils are the Urban Land Institute at the local community level. These organizations provide the structure for ULI to pursue its mission in the United States and International regional centers. As the principal local forum of real estate professionals, District Councils reflect ULI at its best in membership opportunity, leadership development, community service and enhancement of land use policy and practice.”

This statement reflects ULI District Councils' commitment to accomplishing ULI’s mission at the local level—to provide responsible leadership in the use of land, to share research findings and educate, to make an impact on public policy and practice, and to facilitate local discussion of national, regional and local issues related to land use policies and practices.

Since 1991, the District Council program has grown from a small group of eight District Councils to over 58 District Councils operating nationally and internationally. Today, nearly 87% of ULI’s domestic membership is served by a local District Council.

Each year over forty thousand individuals attend District Council events, and nearly 50% of these attendees are not ULI members. In the eyes of these thousands of non-members across the country, the local District Council is ULI. It is critical, therefore, that the District Council program establish and maintain high standards, and that each local District Council be provided with the training and resources necessary to achieve the highest quality programming possible.