As chair of the Urban Land Institute’s Responsible Property Investment Council, I often get eye rolls or quips such as, “Responsible property investing? If you’re investing ‘responsibly,’ are you suggesting that we’re investing irresponsibly?”

There’s no moralizing here. The term “responsible” simply addresses our ability to respond. As investors, we can only react appropriately if we understand the full nature of risk and opportunity. In our experience, a holistic lens provides an insightful risk-management tool and drives superior value. Our objective, like that of most investors, is to create competitive and durable market-rate returns.

Buildings, neighborhoods and cities are complex, adaptive systems. We see the convergence of rising urban populations, unprecedented displacement and migration, demographic shifts, and growing income inequality. We see a warming climate, more extreme weather, natural-resource constraints, and infrastructure that c