Eric Aderneck’s 2015 ULI Fall Meeting Blog

I had the good fortune to attend the ULI Fall 2015 Meeting in San Francisco. At the conference I participated in numerous events, including a walking tour of the port and wharfs, hearing directly from industry leaders about innovative technology and disruptive trends, and attending more intimate dialogue sessions. I was impressed by how the topics transverse real estate to include land use planning and urban design issues which are also of interest of public officials like myself.

The importance of real estate market and financial factors are not always given adequate consideration by public sector officials. Hopefully public sector representatives increasingly participate at ULI events, both at the national and local levels, which expose them to best practices to balance private real estate investments, public sector planning goals and policies, and community consultation needs. Successful land use planning and development is a cross-sectoral partnership.

My work at Metro Vancouver regional government focuses on industrial lands issues, and so I was delighted to see two sessions specifically about industrial lands, which is an often over-looked topic in planning research and dialogue.

The conference was an invaluable experience, illustrating to me the full potential of ULI in terms of bringing together amazing speakers, discussing important issues, and meeting new people. Attending the conference has reinvigorated me to continue promoting and advancing ULI as a volunteer at my local ULI British Columbia chapter.

The many receptions were great too! Plus San Francisco was a beautiful venue to host such a conference, with many comparables to Vancouver where the spring meeting was held in 2014.

Thank you again for ULI and the Rose Center Public Officials Scholarship for helping to provide this terrific experience.