Last week, the city hosted an Advisory Services Panel from the Urban Land Institute (ULI) — a global non-profit research and education organization group bringing together experts in disaster recovery funding, urban design, climate change resilience, and infill development. After the nine-person panel spent a week engaging with residents, talking to local leaders, and assessing damages, the panel presented a set of recommendations for Asheville's recovery.

The conversation unfolded as ULI panel chair Jim Heid asked what Asheville's legacy will be. "A moment of trauma and memories of a general event that disrupted your community and tested your strength? Or the moment you seized a bigger future to build back stronger, more connected, and more resilient?"

The panel made recommendations based on three key elements of resilience: physical, economic, and organizational.

Right now the recommendations are simply that, but with many primary sources of "unprecedented funding" — state-matched FEMA rebuilding funds, $225 million in CDBG-DR funds, a $260 annual budget, and $80 in GO bonds that can be used for rebuilding projects — Mayor Esther Manheimer acknowledged the opportunity for Asheville to build back better.

Here are some of the key insights that stuck out in the initial report, "Asheville: A Legacy in Progress."

Strengthening legacy neighborhoods

To ensure equitable recovery, ULI panel member Andre Brumfield urged the creation of a future where Asheville's historically Black neighborhoods, including The Block, Southside, Pisgah View, and Burton Street, can benefit and grow from recovery efforts.

Some strategies presented include:

Growing the Black Cultural Heritage Trail
Advancing Black homeownership and offering more avenues for housing choice
Promote Black entrepreneurship
Build community hubs that anchor legacy neighborhoods

Establish a "One Water" mentality

Panelist and civil engineer Roni Deitz stressed that now is a pivotal moment for Asheville to rethink its approach to water — and she brought some ideas for planning:

Establish a "One Water Council" of city, county, MSD, and more staff to support more coordinated investments, share more comprehensive water quality data, and collaborate on flood warning alerts.
Launch a city and countywide stormwater master plan
Don't wait to make investments in new long-term flood storage and drinking water infrastructure

Adaptation in the arts

“Arts and culture are way too valuable to return to harm’s way,” said panelist and Harvard Business School professor John Macomber. He proposed a “RAD 2.0" — a long-term relocation to a safer site, using $30 million in CDBG-DR funding. Macomber also acknowledged that most artists can’t afford the “new build” rents, and many are hesitant to return for emotional and environmental reasons.

But that's not all that was proposed for the arts community:

Creation of a creative incubator that provides business support services, technical assistance, and marketing support from educational institutions and nonprofits
Prioritization of affordable commercial leases for artists

There are plenty more recommendations where these came from. To learn more, you can watch the two-hour presentation or view the slides — the final report will come out later this year.