As cities become denser, the cost of high-density parking begins to pencil out for developers—which is when the development of parking that automatically stores and retrieves cars becomes attractive.

With a focus on its historic Union Station, Los Angeles is trying to create transit links between downtown and surrounding historic neighborhoods—and invited a ULI advisory services panel to weigh in.

According to Emerging Trends, the real estate report from PWC and ULI presented at a ULI 2011 Fall Meeting press conference in L.A. last week, a handful of urban centers are climbing out of recession and may serve as models for the rest of the country. Washington, D.C., remained the number-one city for the third consecutive year; read more to see how the other cities fared in this year’s survey.

The Avenue, located at one of the most coveted corners in Hollywood’s current renaissance, was developed as a condominium by an affiliate of John Laing Homes, now submerged in Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The seven-story condominium development was 70 percent complete when Laing halted construction. Read how the property is being repositioned and what the developer considers a key to its approach.

U.S. architects are experimenting with designing net-zero-energy buildings—those that produce as much energy as they consume. Developers around the world are building modular housing to speed construction, reduce on-site labor expenses, and lower development costs. Now, an off-site systems building manufacturer has developed the first modular net-zero-energy townhouses as a demonstration project in Oakland, California.