Our Purpose

The Urban Development Accelerator (UDA) is a bold new initiative that reflects the National Urban League’s unwavering commitment to empowering affiliates to embrace community and real estate development as a cornerstone for advancing their missions, ensuring long-term sustainability, and transforming the communities they serve.

 

Our Approach

Launched in 2024, UDA brought together a pioneering inaugural cohort of five Urban League affiliates—the Greater Sacramento Urban League, Springfield Urban League, Urban League of Greater Southwestern Ohio, Urban League of Nebraska, and Urban League of the Upstate. These affiliates, each bringing unique strengths and local knowledge, have embraced the opportunity to expand their development expertise through shared learning, mentorship from seasoned developers, and direct, hands-on engagement with real estate initiatives. Together, they represent a vanguard of Urban League leaders driving forward a new era of community investment.

 UDA has sparked new ways of thinking—prompting affiliates to reimagine what is possible when real estate is leveraged as a core strategy for creating economic stability, advancing generational wealth, and ensuring community sustainability.

With every step, we grow closer to ensuring that Black and underserved communities not only survive but thrive, creating vibrant, sustainable futures for generations to come. We look forward to the exciting journey ahead and to the continued success of the Urban Development Accelerator in shaping the future of the Urban League movement.

 

Highlights From Our Previous Events

Urban League Local Innovations in Community Development Webinar

This webinar, spotlighting locally based innovations in community development across the Urban League affiliate network, highlights creative, community-driven solutions that are helping to build stronger, more resilient, and culturally grounded neighborhoods.

During the webinar, you'll hear from affiliate leaders Marcus Johnson, President & CEO, Springfield Urban League Inc., Gail Wilson Awan, President & CEO, Urban League of The Upstate, and Glenda Kizzee, Housing & Social Services Director, Houston Area Urban League who are:

• Protecting and preserving local cultural districts,
• Reimagining underused spaces for non-traditional industries such as music and television production, and
• Partnering with local developers to provide housing counseling services that strengthen equitable growth.

These leaders share their experiences navigating the challenges and opportunities that come with community-driven development. Participants gain practical insights and replicable strategies for fostering innovation, collaboration, and long-term community resilience.