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ULI Washington Empowers Public Sector Leaders through Regional Fellows Program
ULI Washington hosted in 2017 its first Regional Fellows Program for Public Leadership
October 31, 2018
In October, I was fortunate to attend the 2018 ULI Fall Meeting in Boston as a recipient of a scholarship for local public officials from the Rose Center for Public Leadership in Land Use. The conference attracted over 6,000 industry leaders in real estate and land use and was a wonderful opportunity to get out of the day-to-day bubble of planning and land use in Montgomery County and learn about trends in other parts of the country to inform our work.
Particularly valuable were the site tours and sessions offered by the ULI Placemaking Council during the Council Day on Wednesday. The program comprised visits to the new Seaport District in South Boston adjacent to the Convention Center and Kendall Square adjacent to MIT in Cambridge, as well as several group discussions in the morning and at lunch.
As a native of the Boston region, but having not spent much time there recently, it was amazing to see the transformation of the city resulting from the Big Dig and reconnection to the waterfront. New business districts, waterfront access and open spaces have revived these formerly industrial areas into vibrant urban neighborhoods. They provide inspiration for the compact, mixed-use suburban communities we envision here in Montgomery County.
One of the key themes that emerged from the Council Day and across other sessions was the importance of authenticity in making great places. Lessons learned include the following:
In addition to the ULI Placemaking Council events, Fall Meeting provided informal opportunities to interact with people representing diverse roles in the real estate industry and understand the different ways they look at the same issue. Similarly, it was enlightening to talk with the other Rose Center scholars about what is happening in their jurisdictions. Many are facing similar challenges, such as the scarcity of affordable housing, and others are facing different challenges, such rapid employment growth.
The depth of conversations was one of the most valuable aspects of the program. I wrote in my application for the Rose Center Scholarship program that one of the reasons I wanted to attend ULI Fall Meeting was to reconnect with old friends and make new ones. My experience certainly met that objective and I am excited about applying the knowledge I gained to the Planning Department’s work in Montgomery County.
Written by Caroline McCarthy
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