Infrastructure & Urban Development Council

Our times present a fantastic opportunity to re-think the infrastructure of our urbanised world with $68.5 trillion in planned infrastructure investment globally in the next two decades (source: Global Infrastructure Outlook). Despite this, the significance of the infrastructure’s role in shaping our future is poorly understood and opportunities to maximise its social value is often overlooked. Our mission is to better understand  the relationship between infrastructure and urban development to create and enhance values in places. We will be exploring innovative ways to deliver more sustainable, healthy and equitable towns and cities across the country that respond to the lives of people who engage with them.

An Open Platform

The UK Infrastructure & Urban Development Council aims to be an open, inclusive and diverse platform for leading investors and practitioners in real estate, urban development and infrastructure across public and private sectors. Building on ULI’s extensive networks, we exercise our leadership to share best practice for responsible investment, cross-sector collaboration and value creation in the UK. We also promote industry-wide integration to make a real change and envisage to collaborate with other professional bodies that may share our missions and aspirations.

Should you wish to get involved please contact Brendan Lynch.

Our Focus

Our Council’s focus varies from year to year, but we are particularly interested in taking an outcome-oriented approach to value creation, integrating expertise of a wide range of sectors, such as Transport, Utilities, Education, Health, Community Facilities, Public Realm, Innovation and Housing. We are also interested in exploring inter-relationships between different scales and considering how national / regional infrastructure impact on values created and experienced locally.

Our programme this year will focus on three main cross cutting themes:

  • The definition of infrastructure and its role in development, regeneration, and value creation
  • New Towns and the impending challenges of planning, funding, and delivering well connected and sustainable communities
  • Good practice for models of public/private sector partnerships and funding/finance streams on major projects

Who We Are

Our industry involves financiers, infrastructure owners, developers, investors, leading engineers, contractors, academics, civil servants, innovators and entrepreneurs as well as other professionals active in infrastructure and urban development sectors. We welcome members and participants from the public and private, large and small organisations who care about the council’s mission statement and want to contribute to the diversity of opinions and views which is so critical to achieve better outcomes for our societies.

ULI UK Infrastructure & Urban Development Council Co-Chairs

Our activity

As part of ULI events, we hold biannual Product Council Days, typically a day before the ULI UK Annual Conferences. The Council Days will give council members an opportunity to share knowledge, learn from best practice and explore ways to improve the industry’s current practice.

We will work closely with ULI to promote knowledge sharing and thought leadership across our broad base of members. We aspire to contribute to the ULI ideation and production of research and reports in line with the mission priorities of the organisation. All of our conversations contribute to meaningful outputs including White Papers and recommendation reports, with the intention of creating tangible impact on major programmes, infrastructure, and regeneration in the UK.

ULI-wide collaboration

We work with other ULI Product Councils within ULI UK, as well as our counterparts in other regions around the world. In particular, we are in close contact with the following groups / initiative leaders to discuss and coordinate event topics and consider joint events:

ULI UK

  • Executive Committee
  • Other UK Product Councils

ULI Europe

  • Research
  • Europe Urban Regeneration Council

ULI America

  • Urban Revitalization Council
  • Curtis Infrastructure Initiative.

We are always open to collaborate with other groups. Please get in touch with co-chairs if you are interested in collaborating with us.

How to join the Council

To join a Product Council, you need to be a full member of ULI. If your membership is through a corporate package with your company, we are happy to check if you can be added to the company’s roster.

  • Submit a formal request to [email protected]
  • You may be asked to submit a CV or bio in order for the co-chairs to balance council membership
  • Attend a meeting as a guest

News