Sustainability and social networks are transforming the way the real estate industry operates, according to Mark Gilbreath, CEO of LiquidSpace, predicting we will reach “peak office” in the next five years.

In his book, Alexandros Washburn writes that “nothing important in a city can change without an alignment of politics, finance, and design.” As New York City’s chief urban designer under Mayor Michael Bloomberg, he played a key role in the planning and building of the High Line, the 21st century’s most notable civic design project. That experience shaped his view of city design.

Dense, compact cities are “the way forward in the development of man” and are critical in combating climate change and inequality, renowned architect Lord Richard Rogers told delegates at the ULI Europe conference in Paris.

The big question hovering over housing during the financial recovery has been what will convince millennials to become homeowners? Two showcase homes unveiled at the recent International Builders Show in Las Vegas provide both answers and inspiration.

When the Pritzker Architecture Prize jury selected Alejandro Aravena of Santiago, Chile, as the 2016 laureate, it was not only for what Aravena designs, but also for what he does not design. The firm for which he serves as executive director, Santiago-based Elemental, has earned international attention for designing low-cost social housing that provides “half a house”—a home that people can inhabit, plus a framework that allows them to double the size of their dwellings as they have time and resources.

Richard Rogers, an internationally renowned architect recognized for people-oriented building design and development, has been named the 2015 recipient of the ULI J.C. Nichols Prize for Visionaries in Urban Development. Rogers was honored as part of the ULI Europe Conference in Paris.

The $1 billion in National Disaster Resilience Competition (NDRC) grants recently awarded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is a critical step in helping states and communities across the nation become more resilient to the impacts of climate change, according to ULI. In addition, the grant proposals and winning applications have highlighted the important connections between urban design and development and improving community resilience.

In Rotterdam, a fast-food tenant replaces an obstructive kiosk in a prominent location with a simple glass box that draws people—and sunlight—in.

Completed in May 2013, GLP Misato III is a state-of-the-art logistics facility in Greater Tokyo in the Saitama Prefecture. The five-story facility, with a total floor area of 1 million square feet (93,000 sq m), is equipped with dual ramps allowing service vehicles to drive to each floor, demonstrating efficiency of land use in a country where land is severely constrained.

Be forewarned: this book’s emphatic title tells readers that, in the author’s view, local land use regulation shapes the form of American communities, for better or worse. To solve the problems of sprawl and economic segregation that plague cities and urban development, William A. Fischel, an economics professor at Dartmouth College, insists that we must radically reform zoning in the United States.

In Port Elizabeth, a coastal city in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa, city officials hope to catalyze development surrounding the river and port, as well as other parts of the Baakens Valley Precinct, a 300-acre (120 ha) site. The plans “will turn the city around,” says Dawn McCarthy, the municipality’s senior director for strategic planning and coordination in the office of the chief operating officer, speaking at the opening briefing for a World Bank–sponsored ULI Advisory Services panel convened in November.

Originally opened in 1952 as a fresh goods market, Mercado do Bom Sucesso is a renovated public building that hosts a shopping center, offices, a hotel, and a fresh food market.