This session is about exploring unconventional development opportunities through the Faith-Based Housing Initiative, a groundbreaking program that connects developers with faith leaders to transform underutilized church properties into much-needed housing.
This session walks through the practical steps to explain how simple code repairs interact with your existing built environment. Spoiler: just because you change the code to allow a thing doesn't mean that thing is going to spring up everywhere!
Our most beloved cities were built incrementally—house by house, block by block. Today, regulatory barriers too often block the small-scale development our communities need. For over 30 years, the Institute for Justice (IJ) has fought at the intersection of litigation, legislation, and grassroots organizing to restore the freedom to build and grow organically.
Rich Rogers explores how investment crowdfunding fills critical gaps in real estate capital stacks. Through practical examples, learn how both for-profit and nonprofit developers structure offerings to fund challenging project phases—from predevelopment to tax credit monetization—while reducing costs compared to traditional financing.
Krista Nightengale will share how Better Block transforms neighborhoods through tactical urbanism, not massive budgets. She will demonstrate how temporary interventions—paint, planters, pop-up installations—help communities and officials envision vibrant public spaces, building momentum for lasting change through grassroots collaboration.
What makes a block, a street, or a plaza feel timeless, vibrant, and enduring? Great places share universal building blocks that have shaped successful communities for centuries. This session introduces incremental developers to essential elements of urbanism, helping translate conceptual design ideas into actionable strategies that enhance both community and financial value.
Jim Heid will discuss his award-winning Cottage Court project, achieved through thought partnership, not rezoning. He will explain how community context helped him enlist elected officials, planning and public works staff as collaborators in creating what the community wanted, not what code dictated.
Created for real-world use and rooted in patterns that already exist in Maine towns, the Maine’s PlaceCode Library offers a calibrated approach to zoning reform. Ivy will share how communities are applying this tool, what challenges it helps solve, and how practitioners can get trained to use it effectively.
Your project looks finanicially promising. So how will it repay investors, and when? How long before you can liberate your equity to take on a new project? This session will help you make sense of the Multi-Year Cash Flow, a common tool for forecasting how your project will perform over time.
When does a small project become a big regulatory headache? In this Small Bites session, we’ll unpack the development “triggers” that can add complexity, cost, or delay to your project. From subdivision and zoning ordinances to stormwater rules, fire and building codes, and even how finance and market expectations influence your path—this conversation will help you spot the thresholds that matter most and navigate these pivotal points to avoid common missteps.
What makes a pocket neighborhood truly work? In this one-hour session, Ross Chapin—the architect who literally wrote the book on pocket neighborhoods—will break down the essential design features that define a successful project. Drawing on over three decades of experience, he’ll share practical insights to help developers and architects create housing that fosters connection among residents, earns acceptance from surrounding neighbors, and leads to long-term financial viability.
Historic properties are some of the most charming and well-performing projects, but they come with challenges. Understanding the different levels of historic preservation and incentives can be difficult, especially when assessing a potential project. In this talk we’ll cover the basics of historic preservation at each level including local, state, and federal regulations and what they mean to a project
