Amid the implementation of Forward SGF, Springfield’s comprehensive plan, and an upcoming comprehensive update of the city’s codes, professionals across several disciplines that play a role in development are bringing the Urban Land Institute to Southwest Missouri.
The Urban Land Institute, or ULI, is an international nonprofit and research organization focused on land-use planning and sustainable development, with more than 45,000 members across more than 80 countries.
The institute is composed of representatives from the real estate and land-use business sectors who share ideas, recommendations and best practices with each other, with policymakers and communities, “to shape the future of the built environment for transformative impact in communities worldwide.”
“We want to shift the focus away from just growth of rubber stamping and expanding and annexing boundaries — just growth for growth’s sake — and talk about what’s the yield of these developments,” said Brandon Biskup, a Springfield-based architect and chair of the leadership team organizing a southwest Missouri's Urban Land Institute chapter.
Ongoing initiatives provide ‘incredible opportunities’
Biskup left an Urban Land Institute event in northwest Arkansas last year inspired to bring the collaboration and efforts of the organization to Springfield and southwest Missouri.
“All these different organizations have an interest and passion for wanting to do things in their community, but there wasn't really any organization connecting those interests and bringing the different trades together,” Biskup told the Hauxeda.
While Urban Land Institute Southwest Missouri has been in the works for several months and has put on a number of educational and networking events, Biskup presented the organization and its push to bring a chapter to the region to the Springfield City Council on Aug. 1.
While Biskup acknowledged Springfield has faced challenges and contention with development recently — evident through the ongoing University Heights rezoning case and the referendum vote against a Galloway development in November 2022 — he wants ULI to focus on the positives and opportunities.
“We want to be optimistic,” he said. “This isn’t a group to sit around and just bicker about the challenges and not get anywhere for focusing on the negative. We want to focus on the positive and what are the ways in which we can move forward.”
Between the “incredible opportunities” like the Grant Avenue Parkway project, Lake Springfield planning, Renew Jordan Creek, Springfield’s citywide housing study, initiatives in surrounding communities and increased public engagement, Biskup emphasized that the timing to bring the nonprofit organization to southwest Missouri is advantageous.
While Forward SGF encompasses many issues the institute looks at, fiscal responsibility is a primary focus of the organization.
“Obviously we have the zoning, transportation, infrastructure and economic — there’s a lot of others out there, but as far as the topics, we come down to fiscally being tied to the responsible and sustainable land use,” Biskup told council members.
In contrast to economic factors, which he said was more in reference to jobs and businesses, the fiscal component refers to city tax revenue. Biskup tied fiscal responsibility into ensuring developments have monetarily and culturally beneficial yields to Springfield.
“It’s a different way of thinking about it that really frames it in the sense of how do we look at each individual development moving forward, and then, along with our comprehensive plan, what are the yields that we’re going to be getting off of developments moving forward that will best sustain our community for growth,” Biskup said.
Advocating for sustainable development, connecting stakeholders to resources
While the institute's focus is on development, it aims to connect more than just developers, but all stakeholders of development in the community, from real estate professionals, city planners, engineers, architects, business owners, cultural institutions and neighborhoods, among others.
“[Urban Land Institute] is one of those big tent organizations, where it means a lot of different things to a lot of people because there’s a broad scope to it in that sense,” Biskup said.
Even as advocating for sustainable and responsible land-use planning is a big part of what they do, the organization primarily serves as a networking channel to connect the various stakeholders to resources and each other, and have conversations about development issues in their early stages.
While the resources are tailored toward industry professionals, he encouraged anyone who is passionate about better understanding development issues to get involved with the organization.
Local members can themselves serve as a valuable resource to their colleagues, and the Urban Land Institute, which has been around since 1936, has access to a library of resources and can connect stakeholders to companies and thought leaders involved in the organization in other parts of the world.
The institute is divided into three main regions: the Americas, Europe and Asia. Urban Land Institute Southwest Missouri will work with the national level of the organization, but eventually aims to become recognized as a satellite chapter of Urban Land Institute Northwest Arkansas, which will provide administrative resources.
Biskup emphasized multiple times that the chapter forming in Springfield is for the entire southwest Missouri region, and that it has already started engaging with surrounding communities.
Biskup described the formation of an Urban Land Institute chapter here a “grassroots” effort. While they have over 20 members, including nine individuals on the leadership team, attendance of the events has climbed since they hosted their first one in April.
Urban Land Institute Southwest Missouri hosts a variety of programming, from lunch-and-learn style events to panel discussions with the occasional guest speakers, where members discuss everything from housing and neighborhoods, the real estate market and tourism and placemaking.
On July 25, Urban Land Institute Southwest Missouri hosted former Fayetteville, Arkansas City Councilmember Matthew Petty, who now works as the chief executive officer of Pattern Zones Co. Perry presented to dozens of attendees about pre-approved building programs and infill development.
In total, Biskup estimated around 200 people total attended all of the the institute's local events, with 40-60 attendees at each one.
Urban Land Institute Southwest Missouri is hosting a real estate development roundtable on Aug. 25 at the Gentry Family Event Space at Ozarks Technical Community College from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Biskup encourages anyone interested in joining the discussion with the institute and future events to reach out to him at brandon@kineticdd.com.
