Good morning! 

September’s wrapping up, and it’s our moment to lock in wins before the quarter closes. I’m focused on finishing strong - clear priorities, tight execution, and removing anything that slows us down. Let’s close out Q3 on the front foot.

— Lucas Robinson, Founder & CEO at BudgetMailboxes.com

🎯 This Week’s Strategy:

• Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in Construction

🛠️ Boardroom Brief:

• Steel framing gains momentum: durability, speed, and insurance savings
  

Strategy

🎯 Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in Construction

As cities face mounting pressures from climate change, population growth, and infrastructure aging, Urban Resilience Planning has emerged as a critical strategy for forward-thinking builders and developers. This approach focuses on designing and constructing communities that can withstand and adapt to disruptions whether environmental, economic, or social while continuing to thrive.

Urban resilience isn’t just a government concern it’s an opportunity for private developers to create long-lasting value. By integrating resilient design principles into your projects, you can future-proof investments, reduce operational risks, and enhance community appeal in an increasingly uncertain world.

How to Implement Urban Resilience Planning in Your Projects

✅ Conduct a Site-Specific Risk Assessment
Evaluate exposure to climate-related risks such as flooding, heatwaves, seismic activity, and storm surges. Use local environmental data and projections to guide site selection and planning decisions.

✅ Incorporate Resilient Design Features
Integrate features like permeable pavements, green roofs, elevated structures, and robust drainage systems. These reduce vulnerability to environmental stressors and lower long-term maintenance costs.

✅ Diversify Energy and Water Systems
Plan for redundancy in utilities with solar panels, battery storage, and rainwater harvesting systems. This ensures service continuity during outages or emergencies and appeals to sustainability-minded buyers.

✅ Plan for Mixed-Use and Mobility
Encourage walkability, mixed-use zoning, and access to public transportation to reduce car dependency and increase community adaptability in times of disruption.

✅ Engage Local Stakeholders Early
Work with city planners, utility providers, and community organizations to align your project with broader urban resilience goals. Collaboration reduces approval barriers and fosters community support.

Why It Matters

Urban resilience planning is no longer optional it’s a competitive advantage. Cities are prioritizing developments that can withstand disruption, and investors are looking for risk-mitigated assets. By building with resilience in mind, you’re not just responding to today’s challenges, you’re setting your projects up for long-term success in a rapidly changing world.

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Boardroom Brief

Steel framing gains momentum: durability, speed, and insurance savings

A Louisiana initiative is testing whether single-family builders can shift from traditional wood to cold-formed steel framing to meet stricter codes, rising insurance costs, and climate risk. The South Central Planning & Development Commission has invested $4.5M in a Houma roll-forming facility and trained a 16-person team to fabricate studs, joists, and panels from digital plans aiming to scale beyond 10 homes per year after an initial learning curve. Early projects suggest steel can deliver straighter, precision-fit assemblies, faster enclosed shells via off-site panelization, and materially higher wind, fire, and termite resistance; one Houma prototype reportedly quoted ~$1,200/year for insurance versus $8.5–10k typical in the region. Developers like Jamie Neville (Blueberry Hill, New Orleans) report ~20% higher framing cost offset by less waste, schedule reliability (warehouse fabrication, rain or shine), and cleaner finishes. Commercial contractors (e.g., RNGD) are adapting panelized MEP-integrated walls from hospitality and mid-rise work to housing tracts, positioning steel for scale where repetitive plans and logistics support exist. Bottom line: while lumber remains cheaper and labor-familiar, steel’s resilience, insurability, and off-site efficiency make it a credible option for Gulf Coast and other hazard-exposed markets especially for standardized, multi-unit programs.

Game

🎉 Fun Finale: Play & Poll