I first joined ULI as a member about eight years ago when I ran into a ULI booth at a real estate conference and discovered many wonderful ULI books on various topics related to real estate development. Yes, I joined primarily to take advantage of a steep discount for new members on books published by ULI, but since then, I have been involved in ULI’s activities in mainland China as a volunteer, helping ULI organize various activities here over the years. The greatest benefit of being an active ULI member so far has been making a lot of good friends in the industry and getting a sense of contributing to society. What made me a real convert was attending the 2012 Fall Meeting in Los Angeles and seeing how close the camaraderie was among developers and real estate professionals in their 70’s and 80’s. At various dinners and award ceremonies, old friends got together to celebrate their successes over the past decades. Instead of talking of the profits generated by their past development projects or investments, they reminisced about the challenges posed by some of their development projects and congratulated each other for the successes of each other’s projects and the many positive changes brought to the neighborhood and the city by those projects. It truly was an enlightening experience.

This year I have begun serving as ULI’s Chief Representative for mainland China and the last eight months have been an eventful period for us in mainland China. Firstly, in March, we set up a ULI Shanghai Organizing Committee consisting of fifteen members with in-depth experience from various backgrounds, including development, government, academia, law, architecture, and finance. Secondly, in May, we hosted the Inaugural ULI Asia Pacific Summit in Beijing which drew around 400 participants from nearly 20 countries. The Summit, themed around “Sustainable urban development,” was highly praised by many participants for the insightful speeches and panel discussion, given by many world-class thought leaders in the field of urban development and real estate investment. At the Summit, ULI released the results of its second mainland China Cities Survey, made by possible by the contributions of nearly 200 ULI members and friends in mainland China and Hong Kong. Finally, we have started hosting regular seminars in Shanghai and Beijing, thanks to generous help from ULI members and friends, who volunteered as speakers.

I believe that the success of ULI’s initiatives in mainland China and Asia Pacific in the past year are due to the following factors: i) the relevance and importance of ULI’s mission, especially in rapidly urbanizing Asian countries and regions such as mainland China; ii) the deep institutional knowledge of ULI and its members regarding urban development combined with selfless contributions by dedicated ULI members who generously share their time and financial resources; and, iii) ULI’s decision to dedicate more resources in the region, combined with the hard work of regional staff, leading to ULI’s successful establishment of a network of high caliber industry leaders in the region.

In the second half of 2012 and next year, ULI is ready to build upon the successes of the first half. Firstly, we will hold the Inaugural ULI Shanghai Annual Meeting in Shanghai on November 29th along with a professional training program. Additionally, we will be planning for next year’s Second ULI Asia Pacific Summit which will be held in Shanghai in June, 2013. For the second summit, we expect to substantially increase the number of participants, especially from the local developer community and government sector. By the time the summit opens, we are aiming to have increased ULI membership in Shanghai to over 250 members, so that we can have an officially recognized ULI District Council in Shanghai.

I believe that while it is very much important to increase ULI membership and provide our members with relevant content, what matters most is that we contribute to the future of urban development through engaging important stakeholders, such as the public sector and developers. I am so glad that I am part of an organization with socially responsible goals, based on rich experiences and knowledge that can improve the quality of life for so many millions of people, and I feel privileged to work closely with many of dedicated ULI members and staff.

By,
Kenneth Rhee
Chief Representative, ULI Mainland China