Spring 2021 Issue - 20

develop m
Rodolfo Rodríguez, manager of
public health programs and shelter operations for the Washington
County, Oregon, Department
of Housing Services, has been
selected as the inaugural ULI Apgar
Thought Leader Award Winner.
The award, supported by ULI
Trustee Mahlon " Sandy " Apgar, is
awarded biennially and offers ULI
members an opportunity to pursue
research and writing, with the
goal of publishing in Urban Land
magazine. The award encourages
thought leadership and clarity of
thought on subjects that exemplify,
reflect, and champion best practices in responsible land use and
which reinforce the Institute's mission in communities worldwide.
Rodríguez is a current ULI
member and an alumnus of the ULI
Randall Lewis Health Mentorship
Program and the ULI Health Leaders
Network. He will write a thoroughly
researched and documented article
for the audience of Urban Land. He
will receive a $1,500 honorarium to
support the study of his proposed
area of inquiry and will receive
complimentary registration to either
the ULI Virtual Spring Meeting or
the ULI Fall Meeting in 2021.
Rodríguez was selected from
39 entries; his winning proposal
focuses on proven anti-displacement strategies in Latino neighborhood redevelopment initiatives
in the United States. Through his
20

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Developments_SP21.indd 20

DA W N B O W E R Y P H O T O G R A P H Y

Rodolfo Rodríguez
Selected as Inaugural
ULI Apgar Thought
Leader Award Winner

research and writing, he hopes
to delve deeper into this subject
matter and focus on tenant-led processes, innovative funding sources,
mixed-use spaces, and culturally
reflective community design, policy,
and advocacy.
" It is not lost on me that the
voices of those impacted most are
inadvertently silenced in the land
development process because we
are not invited into decision-making
spaces, " says Rodríguez. " For me,
the ULI Apgar Thought Leadership
Award is more than just an opportunity to research and write. It is
an invitation to step on a global
platform and set the stage for an
overdue conversation on 'gentrification and displacement' through a
community-rooted lens. "
" We were very pleased with
the number, variety, and quality
of submissions for this inaugural
award, " said the ULI Apgar Thought
Leader Award Selection Committee
in a joint statement. " Ultimately,
the committee felt that Rodolfo's
proposal could result in some
innovative contributions to ULI's
long-running conversations on
housing affordability, as well as the
burgeoning conversations about
more nuanced aspects like gentrifi-

cation, displacement, and equitable
development. We are excited to see
where his research takes him and
look forward to sharing his thought
leadership. "
The criteria for selecting the
winner included innovative ideas
about buildings and communities;
relevance to current land use and
development issues; logic and perceptiveness of the analysis; clarity
of presentation; overall contribution to land use and development
literature; and additional criteria as
designated by the selection committee (e.g., specific topics, emphases, and geography, among other
criteria).
Selection committee members
for the ULI Apgar Thought Leader
Award were Linda J. Isaacson, managing director, global head of innovation and technology, Ferguson
Partners, New York City; Elizabeth
Razzi, editor in chief, Urban Land
magazine, Washington, D.C.; and
Adam Weers, principal, Trammell
Crow Company, Washington, D.C.
JUSTIN ARNOLD is ULI senior manager of

communications.

Four University Teams
Advance in ULI Hines
Student Competition-
Americas
Four teams have been selected
as finalists for the 19th annual
ULI/Gerald D. Hines Student
Urban Design Competition in the
Americas, an event that challenges
graduate students to devise a
comprehensive design and devel-

SPRING 2021

3/31/21 11:00 AM
Spring 2021 Issue

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Spring 2021 Issue
