Creating Diverse and Inclusive Communities

Report Summary: By nature of their scale, master-planned communities (MPCs) play a significant role in meeting housing demand and shaping the patterns of American urban and suburban development. Many past MPCs, however, fostered race and class-based discrimination. With the rising awareness of racial injustice, ULI has acknowledged the past wrongdoings of its members and has committed to redressing the injustices inflicted. In this context, this report began by asking can MPCs break free of the past and become truly diverse and inclusive? And what role can developers play? This report aims to inspire the real estate industry by showcasing the best practices in MPC development for creating diverse and inclusive communities. An in-depth study of the nation’s most successful MPCs reveals that many developers of industry-leading communities are embracing diversity as a core value. Seven key principles that can set a community on a trajectory to become more diverse and inclusive are identified and elaborated with concrete evidence from the studied communities.