The only thing we can be certain of regarding the transition to battery electric vehicles (BEVs) is that, although that transition is inevitable, we have no reliable way of predicting how it will unfold. From politics and incentives to a Moore’s Law–like evolution in battery efficiency and charging speed, to fire safety improvements being designed into these vehicles, disruption remains the one constant. What does this likelihood mean for the intelligent future-proofer?

Formerly at U.S. Department of Energy, Witteman discusses her mission to integrate sustainability and affordability in commercial real estate, revealing how ULI is leading the charge for decarbonized communities.

What if you were told that a brand-new, state-of-the-art building constructed today could be functionally obsolete in less than a decade? This prediction isn’t far-fetched; it’s the emerging reality in a world where technology and user expectations are evolving at a breakneck pace. And nowhere is it more apparent than in the world of parking.

Texas has experienced a prolonged economic boom, bringing with it a significant explosion in population. From 2000 to 2023, the state’s population grew by a remarkable 46.3 percent. This level of growth inevitably places pressure on cities, whether to update infrastructure, revise planning regulations, or address other critical urban challenges.

Currently, vacancy rates in the Washington, D.C. area are around 20 percent, in line with the national average. The nationwide housing shortage, meanwhile, has hit a record high of 4.7 million homes, despite a five-year uptrend in new construction. The deficit is particularly pronounced in highly desirable urban and inner-suburban locations such as Alexandria, Virginia.

As aging retail continue to evolve, one increasingly popular trend has been to redesign malls as town centers—recalling a time when such commercial districts were the heart and soul of a community. Mall–to–town center retrofits are emerging throughout the nation, especially in suburban communities, where pedestrian-friendly, mixed-use environments are highly attractive to millennials now raising families.

Across North America, cities are confronting a housing crisis that demands urgent, innovative responses. In Toronto, the launch of the Rapid Housing Initiative (RHI) in April 2020 marked a pivotal moment—an accelerated effort at the height of the pandemic to deliver safe, stable housing. Since then, unprecedented investments have been made in communities across Ontario to address housing insecurity, reshaping the province’s residential landscape.

Although video conferencing and other technological innovation has made it possible for economic activities to be dispersed, differences in growth rates, jobs, and incomes have increased, in recent decades, as regions in the Northwest and Midwest have lost population and regions in the South and West have experienced population, employment, and income growth. The negative effects of housing price increases in growing regions serve as a constraint to domestic migration and economic opportunities, especially for lower-skilled workers. In the long run, unaffordable housing prices contribute to unequal regional development and worsening income disparities. Job-rich regions need to encourage housing production.

What trends are shaping the future of the industrial sector? Four experts from ULI’s Industrial and Office Park Development Council talk about the industrial submarkets and property types that offer the greatest opportunities, challenges developers face in bringing new projects to market, ways artificial intelligence and emerging technologies are reshaping the sector, tenant priorities, and other key trends.

Esteemed developer Tom Cousins, who was born and raised in Georgia, passed away late last month at age 93. Over the course of his extraordinary life, he became not only one of the most influential real estate and urban development visionaries of our time but also a philanthropist who vowed to create lasting change—and fulfilled that promise.