Comparison · 13 material differences
ICSC vs Urban Land Institute
This comparison was generated on request from the records. It carries no editorial verdict and is not indexed. The published comparisons are listed on the compare page.
Read down each column for one organization, across a row for the difference. A bronze mark at the left of a cell means the organizations differ on that row. A dash or “not published” means the organization does not disclose the fact — it is not a zero.
What the records say
- Maximum age at joining — ICSC: Next Generation membership: industry professionals under 40; Urban Land Institute: Under 35 qualifies for a reduced dues rate.
- Industry restriction — ICSC: Standard membership: companies and individuals who own, develop, manage or support marketplaces and spaces (excludes retailers and tenants); Urban Land Institute: Open to professionals across the real estate and land use industry.
- Annual dues — ICSC: $300 a year; Urban Land Institute: $1,332 a year.
Side by side
| ICSC | Urban Land Institute | |
|---|---|---|
| Profile | ||
| Type | Professional association | Professional association |
| Founded | 1957 (ICSC's own account: "With a $500 payment and a handshake, seven enterprising professionals established ICSC in a downtown Chicago hotel in 1957.") | 1936 (Founded 14 December 1936; the Urban Land Institute name was adopted in 1939 per Wikipedia's history of the organisation.) |
| Headquarters | New York, United States | Washington, United States |
| Geographic footprint | Global; ICSC runs regional divisions and works with national and regional shopping centre councils worldwide, and holds a Washington DC office alongside its New York headquarters | Members in 80+ countries; district councils across the United States, Canada and Mexico, with separate ULI Europe and ULI Asia Pacific regions |
| Members | 70,000as of May 2026 | 45,000as of August 2026 |
| Chapters | Not publicly disclosed as a single figure. ICSC organises by region and division rather than by named chapters, and Wikipedia reports relationships with more than 25 national and regional shopping centre councils. | 57 |
| Primary audience | Owners, developers, managers, investors, brokers and marketers of shopping centres and other retail and mixed-use property, plus retailers, public officials and academics | Professionals across the land use and real estate industry — developers, investors, lenders, architects, planners, public officials and academics |
| Typical member | Membership spans the retail property chain: shopping centre owners, developers, managers, marketing specialists, investors, retailers and brokers, together with academics and public officials. ICSC's own pricing distinguishes companies and individuals who own, develop, manage or support marketplaces from retailers and tenants, who pay a lower rate. | ULI's own materials describe a cross-disciplinary membership of developers, investors, designers, builders, buyers, sellers, urban planners and public officials. Wikipedia's breakdown of the membership puts developers at 28 percent, capital sources at 13 percent, service providers at 10 percent and the public sector at 10 percent. |
| Qualification | ||
| Maximum age at joining | Next Generation membership: industry professionals under 40A discounted category, not a barrier to joining.verified September 2026 · source ↗ | Under 35 qualifies for a reduced dues rateULI's membership FAQ states it offers 50–75 percent savings for individuals under age 35, for professionals in non-profit organisations, government or academia, and for students. Under-35 members are also the constituency for the Young Leaders Group. This is a discount band, not a barrier to joining.verified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Industry restriction | Standard membership: companies and individuals who own, develop, manage or support marketplaces and spaces (excludes retailers and tenants)Retailers and tenants have their own lower-priced category.verified September 2026 · source ↗ | Open to professionals across the real estate and land use industryULI describes itself as "a diverse network of private and public professionals spanning the real estate and land use industry, including developers, investors, designers, builders, buyers, sellers, urban planners, and public officials". No revenue, seniority or wealth test is published.verified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Invitation required | No | No |
| Sponsor required | No | No |
| Application process | Applicants join online through the ICSC membership pages, choosing a member type. Categories with reduced rates require documentary proof — government letterhead for public sector applicants, a university ID for academics, and a transcript, course list or registrar's letter for students. There is no sponsor, interview or committee stage in the published process. | Applicants create a ULI account and join online, or join by email, phone or post using a printed application with payment. Membership is open on application; ULI's published materials describe no sponsor, interview or committee review. Dues can be paid in one annual payment, on annual auto-renewal, or in twelve monthly instalments, which require a twelve-month commitment. |
| Selectivity | Not publicly disclosed; the published route is open enrolment with eligibility set by the type of business the applicant is in. | Not publicly disclosed; ULI publishes no acceptance rate and its published joining route is open enrolment rather than selection. Invitation-based selection applies within ULI to product councils, not to membership itself. |
| Cost | ||
| Annual dues | $300 a yearStandard membershipverified September 2026 · source ↗ | $1,332 a yearFull membership, United States standard rate ($111 per month on the instalment plan). From ULI's own US individual membership application; the form states rates were valid for payments received by 30 June 2023, so the current rate may differ.verified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Initiation fee | Not publicly disclosed; no joining fee is listed alongside the published dues.verified September 2026 | Not publicly disclosedverified September 2026 |
| Local chapter dues | ICSC publishes a simple flat rate card with no corporate tier: companies and individuals pay the same $300 standard rate. | Not publicly disclosed. District council participation is included in national dues in ULI's published materials; no separate district council fee is advertised.verified September 2026 |
| Event costs | Not recorded here. ICSC's conferences are separately ticketed and are the main cost of participation, but rates vary by event and were not read for this record.verified September 2026 | Dues rates recorded here come from ULI's own FY2023 United States individual membership application, which states the rates were valid for payments received by 30 June 2023. ULI's current site (uli.org) blocks automated retrieval, so a 2026 rate card could not be read. Rates also differ by country: ULI publishes separate applications for Canada, Mexico and Latin America and the Caribbean. |
| Membership term | Annual | 12 months, expiring on the last day of the anniversary month; annual renewal, with auto-renewal and monthly instalment options |
| Structure | ||
| Meeting frequency | A year-round conference programme including ICSC Las Vegas and ICSC New York, plus regional and state conferences | District council events year-round plus ULI Spring Meeting and Fall Meeting; ULI cites 2,900+ events worldwide each year across in-person and online formats |
| Peer forums | No confidential peer forum structure is published; participation is through events, divisions and committees | ULI Forums and Product Councils are topic-specific member groups that meet regularly; district councils run local committees and a Young Leaders Group |
| Confidentiality | Not publicly disclosed | Not publicly disclosed as a general membership rule; ULI publishes a Code of Ethics rather than a confidentiality regime |
| Time commitment | Not documented | Not documented |
| Organized as | Event-focused, Chapter-based | Chapter-based, Event-focused |
| Confidential peer forums | No | Yes |
| Local chapters | Partial | Yes |
| Virtual membership | Partial | No |
| Online community | Partial | Yes |
| Member directory | Yes | Yes |
| Events | Yes | Yes |
| Programming | ||
| Educational programming | Yes | Yes |
| Leadership development | Partial | Yes |
| Retreats | No | No |
| Travel | No | Partial |
| Family programming | No | No |
| Spouse and partner programming | Not documented | Not documented |
| Next-generation programming | Yes | Yes |
| Investment discussions | Yes | Yes |
| Investment opportunities | Partial | No |
| Philanthropic component | No | Partial |
| Networking emphasis | High | High |
| Social emphasis | Medium | Medium |
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Sources
Drawn from the sources listed on each page: ICSC · Urban Land Institute