With mortgage foreclosures increasing and the number of renters on the rise, “it is critically important” that a financing tool be developed to help expedite private acquisition of foreclosed single-family properties so they can be placed back into the market as rentals, according to lending industry representatives speaking on a multifamily finance panel at ULI’s 2011 Fall Meeting.

At the “Neighborhood Design: Green + Affordable = Sustainable” panel held at the Urban Land Institute’s 2011 Fall Meeting in Los Angeles, three projects were profiled that mix environmental and economic sustainability—one of the main drivers behind LEED for Neighborhood Development (LEED ND), the U.S. Green Building Council’s community-level LEED rating system.

At the Urban Land Institute’s 2011 Fall Meeting and Urban Land Expo in Los Angeles last month, one panel offered up the collective wisdom of those who have a long history of making transit-oriented development happen. Read more to learn what one participant had to say about the newest iteration of TOD—3.0—which combines transit-rich locations, real estate development, and livability.

America’s central cities are using land use planning and economic development initiatives to improve the quality of life that cities can offer residents and businesses and to be more competitive in the 21st Century.

At ULI’s 2011 Fall Meeting in Los Angeles late last month, a panel of experts shared their thoughts on emerging real estate trends, leadership in a global real estate marketplace, and what they see for the future of the real estate industry. Read more to learn why global business strategies and an ever-changing real estate and business marketplace demand a new breed of real estate leaders.

At ULI’s 2011 Fall Meeting, a panel of homebuilder executives shared their insights on the challenges and rewards of working in today’s economic climate. Eschewing the doom and gloom, they shared areas in which they are finding success. Read more to learn why they are optimistic about their prospects in a market that is seeing competition from foreclosures as well as changing consumer demand.

“Reinventing retail is a daily exercise for all of us in merchandising and everything else,” said Michael Townsend, president and CEO of Townsend & Associates, a retail and commercial developer, while speaking at the “Looking Forward: Reinventing Retail” panel at ULI’s Fall Meeting. Read more to learn why he and other industry experts predict casualties as well as opportunities in the years ahead.

Transportation experts gathered at the Urban Land Institute’s 2011 Fall Meeting in Los Angeles late last month looked into the country’s transportation future and predicted continued uncertainty at the federal level, along with a need for increased innovation at the state level, and increased private sector involvement in transportation infrastructure provision at the local level.

How can anyone justify sustainable building retrofits in today’s market? Dana Robbins Schneider, vice president, Jones Lang LaSalle, discusses her involvement in the Empire State Building’s green retrofit and how it can serve as a model for building owners who want to achieve deep energy savings while earning a payback in five years or less.

The real estate market in Mexico is on the verge of transformation. Juan Diego Perez-Vargas, principal, Kaplan McLaughlin Diaz, talks to Urban Land magazine about a new era of the pension fund system that is moving into Mexican real estate.