ULI will hold its 2017 Spring Meeting May 2–4 at the Washington State Convention Center in Seattle. A major focus for the 2017 gathering will be innovative development resulting from the influence of the technology industry, which is transforming cities across the United States. The Seattle urban region, which is the headquarters for Microsoft, Amazon, and a host of other major technology-related companies, is a prime example of this urban evolution.

Industrial real estate investment trusts recently hit their second-highest year-to-date return for 2016 at 24.98 percent. While industry professionals have raised concerns that supply and demand issues may plague the next 12 to 24 months, the industrial sector has been noticeably active as it has posted high aggregate occupancy and low delinquency rates. Plus, interest rate survey data from Trepp.

Though still in its infancy, the senior housing market in China has attracted the interest of major domestic institutions and foreign players alike. However, Chinese retirees’ requirements are subtly different from those of U.S. seniors, said delegates at the recent ULI Chinese Mainland Winter Meeting, held in Shanghai.

According to a report from American credit bureau TransUnion, U.S. renters, as a group, are getting older, but they also have better credit scores and greater access to debt than previously.

As the year winds down, returns on real estate investments trusts have continued to slump as gains in interest rates put downward pressure on the sector. According to the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts (NAREIT), the total returns for the FTSE/NAREIT All REIT Index dropped 2 percent in November while the Standard & Poor’s 500 gained 3.7 percent. Plus, interest rate survey data from Trepp.

Devon Energy Center is a corporate headquarters highlighted by a 50-story skyscraper that creates a focal point for the company and for Oklahoma City by integrating civic-scaled spaces as a vital component of its overall development.

In writing this book, author Alexander Garvin went on a quest to discover what makes cities great. He found that the secret to urban greatness stems from management of the streets, squares, parks, and special places that make up the “public realm.” To maintain greatness, cities must not only maintain but also “continually alter their public realm to meet the changing needs of their occupants.”

When the latest Emerging Trends in Real Estate® report for the United States and Canada was unveiled at the 2016 ULI Fall Meeting in Dallas, the panel discussion quickly turned to how to convert the research into action. The report points to an industry in transition, one that is trying to find ways to maximize investments in a time of low interest rates and global uncertainty.

The NLC and ULI announced that mayors from four U.S. cities—Anchorage, Alaska; Grand Rapids, Michigan; San Jose, California; and Washington, D.C.—have been selected as the 2017 class of Daniel Rose fellows by the Rose Center for Public Leadership in Land Use.

Global finance experts speaking at the 2016 ULI Fall Meeting in late October said that institutional investors were preparing for an extended period of low interest rates and global volatility. But U.S. election results soon added another layer of complexity.