Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield U.S.’s Post

Our goal with the "Buy & Build Back Your Block" initiative is to raise the bar collectively and accelerate the pace of change within commercial real estate. Who's in?

📢 Attention Rondo Community‼️ 📢 Yesterday, the Star Tribune published an article by Our Street Minneapolis discussing i94 and the #RONDO neighborhood. Just two days prior, Asian Media Access released an article about the new Sears development, which includes a RONDO mall on the first floor. Surprisingly, none of us from the Rondo community have been consulted about these developments. This land is originally Rondo descendant land, as it was initially an army base where Quonset Huts for black families resided before the Sears development. This land belongs to the Rondo Community Covenant! It’s concerning to see organizations trying to leverage and capitalize on our families’ lineage and history without involving US in the conversation. Now more than ever, it’s crucial for us to show up and control the narrative. We can’t afford to sit back and watch others use our history for their own benefits. Moreover, the developers and consultants behind this project, such as Kimley-Horn , Seritage, and S9, along with Cedarleaf Dahl, have a history of gentrifying neighborhoods. They are just money-hungry organizations that are not working for the best interests of communities. If they want our voice, we need to ask ourselves, what are we getting in return? Let’s come together, raise our voices, and demand our rightful place in these discussions. Our history, our community, our future – let’s ensure WE are respected and honored. #RondoCommunity #ControlTheNarrative #ProtectOurHistory

🌍 **Reflections on St. Louis' History: A Call for Inclusive Greatness** As St. Louis aims for urban redevelopment, it's crucial to consider the past and ask: for whom was this city ever truly "great"? Despite its history as a bustling metropolis, African Americans in St. Louis have been systematically excluded from sharing in its prosperity. From restrictive housing covenants to economic disparities, the promise of the city's growth was not a shared experience. History shows us a stark divide: - **Economic Disparities**: White households earning double that of Black households—highlighting persistent inequality. - **Educational Exclusion**: Declining enrollments at historical schools like Sumner High reflect the outmigration of Black families seeking better opportunities. - **Urban Renewal**: Often, redevelopment has come at the cost of predominantly Black communities, displacing thousands and perpetuating cycles of poverty. True progress means not just remembering a romanticized past but confronting these historical injustices to pave the way for an equitable future. Let’s aim for a St. Louis where all residents thrive, and greatness is defined by inclusivity. 🌟 #StLouis #Inclusion #Equity #UrbanDevelopment #SocialJustice #NAACP

A key focus of Flemington Works is to understand and disrupt the conditions that hold social and economic inequality in place. One such condition is power. To inform our work, we have used this beautiful Far West Community Partnerships model. In practice, when designing and delivering our recent workshop series, this meant doing pre work with service providers and funding and policy partners, demonstrating humility, delivering sessions with Community Advisors in advance of workshops to ensure they felt comfortable and confident with the proposed content and process, establishing an agreed way of working together, curating spaces and seating, using a paid participation model, and ensuring table facilitators had a connection to Community. What efforts have you used to help shift power when working collaboratively?

An interesting article from Ruth Bloomfield in the Evening Standard this week spotlighting Peckham and the impact that growing popularity and rising rents is having on the local community.     Turner.Works project Peckham Levels is mentioned in the article as an example of positive development in the area. Peckham Levels embodies our approach to delivering places that are both commercially successful and able to meet genuine community needs. Following close collaboration and consultation with the local community, we transformed a derelict car park into a vibrant social and arts space, which provides employment and affordable creative workspace (prioritised for local people), and injects profits back into supporting the community.   We applied the same way of thinking when designing Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts in Peckham. At its core, Mountview is designed to break down barriers to entry into an historically hard-to-access industry for young people from all backgrounds, also offering affordable spaces for local community arts groups and revenue-driving cafés and bar.    As we move forward, let's prioritise projects that seamlessly integrate with the unique character of a place, avoiding the creation of buildings that feel out of place and, inadvertently, displace the very people and businesses that define the community.   https://lnkd.in/eqzRiEVm

Warrior to Love: Show-Up I recently had an inspiring meeting with Councilman Michael Boylan from Jacksonville City Council District 6. It reminded me of the power of community engagement and the importance of taking action to drive change. Years ago, I considered a political career, but my wife and I decided it wasn't the right path for us. Instead, I focused on connecting with our local representatives, believing that true change starts with us. During our conversation, we discussed the book "A Quiet Revolution," which explores the history of Jacksonville's consolidation. Jacksonville Historical Society Both Councilman Boylan and I share a passion for history and a vision for progress in our city. We reflected on the challenges and the numerous failed attempts to unite and advance Jacksonville over the years. One of the biggest questions remains: how do you unite a community divided in the largest city by land mass in the USA? While I am still working on the answer, I know that getting involved and building relationships is a significant step forward. As a private citizen, I've had the privilege of connecting with some of the best professionals and actively participating in our community. My passion lies in solving problems and fostering resilience in relationships. Nothing happens unless you make it happen. It takes everyone to participate in creating and sustaining livable communities. Everything starts with you! Let's take action, show up, and work together to make City of Jacksonville the best place to live on earth. #CommunityEngagement #LocalLeadership #Jacksonville #WarriorToLove #ShowUp #Inspiration #TakeAction

Overall, Cincinnatians feel better about their city. Cincinnati improved in all five broad categories. Here are the percent answering "excellent" or "good" when asked about Cincinnati: As a place to live: 2021: 79% 2023: 81% As a place to work: 2021: 75% 2023: 77% As a place I feel welcome: ·        2021: 67% ·        2023: 74% As a place to raise children: ·        2021: 67% ·        2023: 70% As a place to retire: ·        2021: 47% ·        2023: 51%

Hadn't been to Austin since Brittany Hyman and I met, so it was great to unplug from Houston to be a part of ULI Austin's conversation on retaining black communities (shout out to David Kim & Misty Clark Loocke over at ULI Houston). As the overall population of Austin increases, the declining black population is now beginning to have an economic impact. Turns out, the average residency for a Black person is about 2 years in Austin. On top of affordability, a lack of space and belonging is noted as the primary drivers by Meme S. of Measure and several other Austin residents fighting to implement solutions to change this dynamic. Interestingly enough, while unique it isn't much different than alot of major cities when it comes to the topic of Black "SPACES". This is more than a real estate issue, it's a community development issue. There's some work the community itself has to do, but you can meet them halfway with these 3 takeaways : 📚Invest in placekeeping versus placemaking - In sum, stop creating stuff for people that you want to give them. Make "SPACE" for them in your processes, organizations, and acknowledge that you are in their space. 💰 Carve out funding - I'm not talking about the millions in affordable housing that you're going to quote. I'm talking about right size, right fit pathways to funding that benefit the people that currently reside in the "SPACE". Public funding that is usually available isn't positioned to support small scale or equitable opportunities. Its positioned for large scale projects for large scale companies. Banks can benefit from taking a look at how they review smaller scale projects too. 🫱🏾🫲🏼Be intentional - If you want someone to be in a "SPACE", let them know. That is all. As we continue building our www.dt3m.com community, I hope that I can come back to Austin to connect with those wanting to create "SPACE" for themselves.

Today's thought centers on community bonds, particularly in cities like Phoenix, which recently lost its professional hockey team. Similar stories resonate in places like Atlanta, Cleveland, Hartford, Houston, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Montreal, Oakland, St. Louis, San Diego, Seattle, Vancouver, and Winnipeg, where professional sports teams have relocated in recent memory. Instead of delving into economic or political discourse, consider this: communal events such as arts, culture, and sports play a crucial role in uniting communities. Whether it's the loss of a sports franchise or the closure of an esteemed institution like the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, these events represent not just cultural and economic setbacks, but also profound losses on a political level for entire communities. In the past, arts, culture, and sports were viewed as civic treasures. Today, they are sometimes perceived as mere "special interests". Therefore, when criticisms arise about "civic investment that might benefit private ownership", it's essential to recognize the broader implications of such viewpoints. While economists may quantify tangible impacts, the loss of these intangible "community assets" is immeasurable. Whether you've attended ballet or opera, or felt the exhilaration of a stadium crowd, their absence diminishes not only personal experiences but also the fabric of neighborhoods and communities.

Really interesting piece by one of my old lecturers. I would really recommend senior housing professionals in my network to give this article some consideration. #GMhousing