California-Nevada Technical Assistance Leadership Exchange
The Urban Land Institute (ULI) is seeking applications from municipalities in California and Nevada for its Technical Assistance Leadership Exchange. This year-long program aims to advance innovative solutions to regional land use and climate resilience issues through collaboration between local governments, public sector leaders, and the real estate industry. Hosted from April 2025 to April 2026, the program will facilitate connections, dialogue, and expert exchange to explore strategies for creating resilient and sustainable communities through land use and real estate interventions.
The built environment plays a critical role in enhancing a community’s ability to withstand, adapt to, and recover from the effects of climate change and physical climate hazards. Thoughtful building design and land use policy can mitigate the impacts of extreme weather and other environmental risks, allow flexibility as conditions change, and promote community health. Although climate change and environmental vulnerabilities are worldwide issues that transcend geographic boundaries, localized strategies can help ensure adaptation addresses unique community needs.
Through the California-Nevada Technical Assistance Leadership Exchange, six participating governments will analyze local resilience issues and explore land use and real estate strategies for enhancing community readiness to climate impacts and other environmental vulnerabilities. Each government will work with the staff and members from their closest ULI District Council to complete the program. The six participating District Councils are ULI Sacramento, ULI San Diego, ULI San Francisco, ULI Los Angeles, ULI Orange County/Inland Empire, and ULI Nevada.
A key component of this program is the delivery of ULI Technical Assistance Panels (TAPs) in participating communities. TAPs offer objective, expert guidance to municipalities and other public entities around specific land use issues. The normal price of a TAP is $20,000 – $35,000. With support from the ULI Randall Lewis Center for Sustainability in Real Estate, participating governments will receive a TAP, three ULI memberships, conference registrations, participation in the leadership exchange, and the other benefits listed below for a program participation fee of $5,000.
Program Goals
- Support local governments in identifying practical solutions to land use challenges focused on
climate risk and resilience. - Foster stronger connections among California- and Nevada-based governments and land use professionals, demonstrating how cross-sector and cross-regional partnerships can advance innovative ideas and community success.
- Distill key lessons, policy approaches, and strategies that other communities can adopt locally and nationally.
Key benefits for local government participants include:
- Technical Assistance: Objective recommendations and advice on a local land use challenge
through a ULI TAP (a $20k – $35k value). See the Technical Assistance Panel section below. - Cross-sector Knowledge and Leadership Exchange & Networking: Participation in a year-long exchange program with ULI members and other land use professionals from municipalities in California and Nevada. To support learning and sharing, participating governments will be expected to attend virtual and in-person events throughout the program (detailed on page 4). In addition, program participants will have the opportunity to support TAPs in other communities. Travel, accommodations, and dining stipend provided by ULI.
- ULI Memberships: Participating governments will receive a free Public Agency Membership package for one year ($680 value). The membership package includes one full membership and two associate memberships. ULI memberships must be assigned to individuals on staff at the public agency, and the expectation is that the individuals receiving the memberships will attend the ULI Spring and Fall Meetings and participate in the exchange elements of the program. Additional memberships can be added starting at $150 per individual per year (see details here).
- ULI Fall and Spring Meeting Attendance: Participating governments will receive registration and travel support (stipend) for two (2) individuals to attend the ULI Spring Meeting in Denver, CO (May 12 – 14, 2025) and the ULI Fall Meeting in San Francisco (November 4 – 6). ULI will host an in-person convening at each conference for members of the exchange to meet, network, and discuss their projects. Attendance at these in-person convenings is required for all participating governments. ($3,500+ value.)
- ULI Resilience Summit Attendance: As an added benefit, program participants who attend the ULI Spring Meeting in Denver have the option to attend the ULI Resilience Summit on Thursday, May 15. The Resilience Summit is ULI’s flagship climate adaptation event, convening industry leaders in real estate and resilience from around the world to address the challenges and harness the opportunities posed by climate risks.
Technical Assistance Panels (TAPs)
As part of this project, selected governments will work with their local ULI District Council to execute one TAP focused on a specific local land use and resilience issue. TAPs leverage the knowledge and expertise of the ULI membership to provide objective advice to city agencies and nonprofits on specific land use challenges. ULI has been providing technical assistance to communities for more than 75 years. During a TAP, a small group of volunteers work over a concentrated timeline to provide solutions to complex land use and real estate problems posed by a local government or nonprofit. ULI selects volunteers or “panelists” from its global network of more than 48,000 members based on the specific nature of each assignment. Panel member expertise typically includes real estate developers, investors, designers, planners, engineers, market and financial analysts, and public sector members. The panel lasts two to three days, and on the final day, the panel presents its final recommendations to the local government and key stakeholders. Following the final presentation, ULI prepares a formal report summarizing the recommendations, completed a few months after the on-site engagement.
Resilience Topics and Themes
To participate in this program, interested governments must identify one local land use challenge they would like to have addressed by the ULI TAP. The selected topic or issue should demonstrate a strong alignment with ULI’s urban resilience program.
ULI’s Urban Resilience program is focused on how buildings, cities, and communities can be better prepared for the impacts of climate change and other environmental vulnerabilities. A central goal is ensuring that efforts to enhance resilience not only reduce vulnerability to climate impacts but also strengthen cities overall, enhancing environmental performance, economic opportunity and social equity.
Participating governments should select a land use challenge that can be reasonably addressed by the panel team within 2 – 3 days. Often TAPs will focus on a specific and clearly defined site, neighborhood, or area, but they can also evaluate broader policy approaches or planning initiatives. Prior to the TAP, ULI staff will work with the participating government to generate a list of 3 – 5 questions they would like to have answered by the panelists.
Example TAP concepts might include:
• Strategies for a community or specific site to address wildfire resilience
• Urban design, planning, or zoning approaches to address extreme heat
• Implementation and funding models for a climate adaptation plan or a resilience strategy
• Finance, funding, and implementation strategies for green infrastructure or flood infrastructure
• Providing real estate sector input into upcoming resilience strategies or other planning initiatives
Examples of past resilience-focused Technical Assistance Panels are listed below. Additional examples, as well as principles of resilience, can be found in ULI’s 10 Principles for Building Resilience report.
- Brooklyn, NY: Resilience in NYCHA’s Marlboro Houses – ULI New York convened a TAP to examine how Marlboro Houses, a NYCHA development in Brooklyn, could be made more resilient to climate-induced hazards with careful consideration of its landscape, buildings, operations, and financing. Marlboro was heavily affected by Hurricane Sandy in 2012 but due to its public-private funding model, was deemed ineligible for FEMA relief funds.
- Houston, TX: Urban Heat Island Mitigation – ULI Houston convened a TAP to brainstorm possible future Houston city policies to encourage local property owners and developers to mitigate extreme heat with their projects, explore opportunities for short-term heat mitigation feasibility by referencing relevant regulations and potential financing mechanisms, and offer potential strategies to help Houston reach its extreme heat resilience goals.
- Louisville & Superior, CO: Marshall Fire Recovery – In the wake of the Marshall Fire, which burned 6,000 acres and destroyed more than 1,000 structures, the city of Louisville and the town of Superior requested ULI’s advice on recovery and resilience strategies. Panelists provided guidance on how to incorporate the Wildland Urban Interface into municipal codes, meet the communities’ housing needs, and ensure that community members had a voice in post-disaster decision-making.
Program Timeline
- Friday, March 14, 2025 at 5 pm PT: Application deadline
- March 17 – 21, 2025: Application review
- March 24, 2025: Selected governments are notified of their acceptance
- April – May 2025: Participating governments work with ULI District Council staff to prepare for their TAP.
- ULI hosts first virtual convening for program participants. Virtual participation required.
- May 12 – 15, 2025: ULI Spring Meeting in Denver
- *In-person participation required*
- Tuesday, May 13: In-person convening for program participants at the Spring Meeting
- Thursday, May 15: Option to attend the ULI Resilience Summit (registration fee covered by ULI).
- June – November 2025: ULI hosts bimonthly (every other month) virtual calls for program participants. Dates to be determined. Virtual participation required.
- Participating governments host local TAPs.
- November 4 – 6, 2025: ULI Fall Meeting in San Francisco *In-person participation required*
- ULI will host in-person convening for program participants (date TBD)
- Spring 2026: ULI publishes a summary report distilling key lessons learned and best practices from program projects.
Participation Requirements
Local government participants will demonstrate their commitment to the program by:
- Paying a program fee of $5,000 to participate in the program and as a commitment to the TAP (a $20k – $35k+ value).
- Identifying a specific resilience challenge they would like the TAP to address and work with ULI to execute the panel. The participating government will be responsible for developing a briefing book, identifying and scheduling stakeholder interviews, and supporting the panel’s logistics. More details on what is involved in a TAP can be found at the links below.
- Identifying and facilitating the ongoing participation of three public sector leaders in the program. Participants will be expected to attend regular virtual meetings as well as in-person events at the ULI Spring Meeting in Denver (May 12 – 14, 2025) and the ULI Fall Meeting in San Francisco (November 4 – 6, 2025). ULI will provide participants with a travel stipend for in-person events.
Application Details & Evaluation
The deadline for applying to this program is March 14, 2025 at 5 pm PT. Please submit an application here.
Interested parties should complete the attached application and email the application, along with any supplemental materials, to ULI’s Advisory Services program at [email protected]. Before applying, applicants may request a meeting with ULI staff to discuss their TAP project focus. Please direct questions to the program manager, Victoria Oestreich, at [email protected].
This program is open to all government entities based in California and Nevada.
Applications will be evaluated on the selected topic’s relevance to the ULI urban resilience program and the participating government’s commitment to the program.
About the Urban Land Institute
The Urban Land Institute (ULI) is a non-profit research and education organization with almost 45,000 members globally, representing the entire spectrum of land use and real estate development disciplines working in private enterprise and public service – including leading property owners, investors, advisors, developers, architects, lawyers, lenders, planners, regulators, contractors, engineers, university professors, librarians, students, and interns. ULI’s mission is to shape the future of the built environment for transformative impact in communities worldwide. Learn more about ULI at uli.org