A dramatic illuminated art project turns Chicago’s Merchandise Mart into a living canvas.

ULI will hold its 2019 Spring Meeting April 16–18 at the Music City Center in Nashville. A major focus of the gathering will be the ongoing evolution of urban areas into thriving places that are drawing talented workers and businesses and are magnets for investment. The Nashville metropolitan area, which has experienced an extraordinary renaissance and significant growth over the past several years, is a prime example of this movement.

Over the last eight years, Columbus has leveraged the creation of some 40 acres (16 ha) of green and recreational space along the Scioto River to spark $400 million in new private development, including the National Veterans Memorial & Museum.

Data is increasingly influencing decision-making in everything from how cities are structured to the retail experience, said speakers at the ULI China Mainland Winter Meeting. The conference, held in Shanghai in December, featured two presentations that showed how big data and other technologies are driving design for real estate projects large and small.

A new definition of what constitutes a 100-year flood promises to alter how commercial and residential properties in Austin are built and protected, panelists said at a ULI Austin event in December. This effort arose from new data indicating that major storms in Texas dump more rain than had been previously estimated, with more than 2,000 buildings being added to the designated floodplain.

Architects and urban planners are working with community leaders to find creative and successful ways to design and build a new generation of multiuse arenas.

A ULI Advisory Services panel toured South Sacramento, California, in September, meeting with more than 75 city and county officials, local business leaders, residents, and other stakeholders. The four sponsors—Sacramento Regional Transit, Sacramento Council of Governments, Sacramento Municipal Utility District, and Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District—asked the ULI advisory panel to outline a plan for kick-starting a retrofit of the two transit-adjacent neighborhoods into transit-oriented neighborhoods. Their goals were to promote equitable, healthy, and inclusive community development that fosters job and income growth, housing options, and healthy neighborhood amenities with more convenient access to transit, retail, and services.

Perhaps it is no coincidence that both Craig Robins, president and chief executive officer of real estate development company Dacra, and Kieran Bowers, president of Swire Properties, were schooled in the humanities before becoming real estate developers. Both spoke at the ULI Miami Investor Symposium about their careers and the influence of creative placemaking on their projects.

Ten projects enhance buildings with technologies that add versatility and conserve resources.

While 93.1 percent of all retail sales in Latin America are still made in-store, savvy retailers are increasingly exploring opportunities to merge the in-store experience with the convenience of shopping online. Panelists speaking at the ULI Latin America Annual Conference in September also said that retail is ripe for investment, as the growing middle class is gaining access to credit and earning higher wages in many cities.