The Urban Land Institute, San Francisco (ULI SF) and the Civic Joy Fund are co-sponsors of this ideas competition. We are committed to a thriving and revitalized San Francisco and a Market Street that is brimming with people and activity.

ULI is a global, member-driven organization comprising more than 48,000 real estate and land use professionals dedicated to advancing ULI’s mission of shaping the future of the built environment for transformative impact in communities worldwide. 

ULI’s interdisciplinary membership of professionals from private enterprise and the public sector represents all aspects of the industry, including developers, property owners, investors, architects, urban planners, public officials, real estate brokers, appraisers, attorneys, engineers, financiers, and academics. Established in 1936, ULI has a presence in the Americas, Europe, and Asia Pacific regions, including over 2,000 members in ULI San Francisco. As a nonpartisan organization, ULI has long been recognized as one of America’s most respected and widely quoted sources of objective information on urban planning, growth and development. 

The Civic Joy Fund is a branch of the San Francisco-based nonprofit organization the Civic Space Foundation (CSF), and has a mission of revitalizing San Francisco by investing and organizing projects that bring joy to the streets. CSF was founded in 2023 to bring civic joy back to San Francisco’s streets after the COVID-19 pandemic. CSF’s mission is two-fold: to economically revitalize the City by organizing and investing in art, music, and community events; and to promote civic engagement through creative placemaking for community gathering.

David Meckel, FAIA, is the competition advisor. For the past three decades David has been a professional advisor for design competitions and architect selections for cultural, educational institutions, large scale public spaces and private clients.