Another two years, another new chairman for the Urban Land Institute. Last week, it announced that Peter S. Rummell, principal of Jacksonville, FL-based Rummell Co., is the incoming chair. In many ways such transitions happen quite smoothly. After all, to be a member and longtime participant in ULI, as Rummell, and outgoing chair Jeremy Newsum have been, one has to embrace its tenets.

But each head imprints the organization with their own personality and interests. So it will go with Rummell. GlobeSt.com sat down with him shortly after his appointment to discuss the issues affecting ULI right now and the direction in which he hopes to see it move.

GlobeSt.com: What would you most like to see ULI accomplish in the next two years?

Rummell: There are two trends underway with ULI right now that are moving in opposite directions and I would like to eventually see more coordination between the two. On one hand, ULI has become increasingly a global platform. On the other, we have been building out our local presence more and more through the growth of ULI’s district councils. There are 50 district councils in the US and another 14 outside of the US. They are all very involved in local issues.

An interesting opportunity and challenge for ULI is creating a conversation that is meaningful at the global level and, at the same time, giving the local member--the guy in Jacksonville, FL, say--take home value for what he is trying to do there. How do we stitch the two together and make the conversation equally rich for the guy in London and the guy in Florida? That is what I would like to explore.

GlobeSt.com: You mentioned ULI’s global reach. There has been a lot of upheaval and inter-governmental cooperation in the global economy over the past two or so years. What do you hope to see happen in this arena that would best help ULI?

Rummell: There are two overarching trends happening now that touch on ULI issues. One is urbanization and the other is infrastructure. Taking into context the worldwide recession, and combining that with the difficulty of funding, we have a complex problem that must be addressed from several different angles.

GlobeSt.com: We have been hearing about the problems of urbanization and, especially in the US, the problem of crumbling infrastructure. Do you see any signs that real progress might be made?

Rummell: Yes. I think the conversation we saw in Davos about infrastructure is a positive sign.

GlobeSt.com: So given all of this, how do you see ULI contributing to this global conversation?

Rummell: One of the issues we have talked about for years is ULI’s role as a convener. That word speaks volumes. Because of the general nature of what we do and because we are not product specific, we try to deal with everything--we play a unique convener role.

We have also added the public sector to that conversation. There is also increasing international awareness and that is what provides the richness of that conversation. It is not just one hand clapping.

GlobeSt.com: Can you elaborate on the role of the international community in this conversation? Why do you see it as so important?

Rummell: ULI started 75 years ago and for much of that history it was very domestic focused. There is a dangerous sense in this country that we know everything about everything, and the more you talk to other parts of world, especially in real estate, you realize that is just not true. There are people doing very smart and very stupid things all over world--just like here. In fact, Newsum was the first chairman from outside the US and he has done a terrific job of taking us beyond our US-centric self. That has been very valuable.

GlobeSt.com: Can you name one smart thing you see in other parts of the world?

Rummell: There are parts of the world that understand mass transit better than we do. So the more you bring those people into the conversation the richer it gets.

GlobeSt.com: What is your best career advice?

Rummell: Surround yourself with people who smarter than you are.

GlobeSt.com: What would you most like to see Washington do in next two years?

Rummell: Find a regulatory balance between local and national regulators that acknowledges that real estate is a local business but at some level has national funding needs and implications.