Six data center real estate investment trusts are posting outsized returns this year. The sector has a market cap of $45.6 billion and year-to-date returns have totaled 13.06 percent, including a 3.01 percent dividend yield. Growth in data use and cloud computing is the driving force behind the sector’s expansion. Plus, interest rate survey data from Trepp.

The Urban Land40 Under 40 program first launched in 2014, recognizing and celebrating the best and brightest among real estate and land use professionals under the age of 40 from around the world. Here we take a moment and look back at three members of the inaugural class—one each from the Americas, the Asia Pacific region, and Europe.

A new book, The Smartest Places on Earth, examines this changing dynamic and the transformation of “rustbelt” cities, the former industrial centers of the U.S. and Europe, into a “brainbelt” of design and innovation.

Janette Sadik-Khan, New York’s transportation commissioner from 2007 to 2013, recently spoke at Politics & Prose, one of Washington, D.C.'s premier independent bookstore and cultural hub, promoting her new book, Streetfight: Handbook for an Urban Revolution. Look for an excerpt from the book in the current print issue of Urban Land and online next week.

The performance of real estate investment trusts (REITs) outpaced the broader markets during March and ended the first quarter with a 5.86 percent total return. The U.S. economy appears to be maintaining its growth trajectory in spite of global economic uncertainty and weakness in oil markets. Plus, interest rate survey data from Trepp.

Joseph P. Riley Jr., who led the highly successful revitalization of Charleston, South Carolina, during his 40-year tenure as mayor, has agreed to serve as ULI’s first distinguished visiting fellow. As a distinguished visiting fellow, Riley will offer expertise for several of ULI’s areas of focus, including affordable and workforce housing, sustainable development, improving overall community livability, and public sector leadership in land use decision making.

A recent study concluded that unfunded liabilities total nearly $100 billion at the city level and nearly $1 trillion at the state level. As the first chapter of this book lays out, the total cost of U.S. pension shortfalls may exceed $4 trillion.

Premiering this week, Light City Baltimore is the first large-scale, international “light festival” in the United States. Similar festivals have been held in Berlin, Singapore, Rio de Janeiro, and Sydney, Australia. Light City Baltimore provides a backdrop for the celebration of ideas, ingenuity and creativity through art, music and innovation.

Lodging real estate investment trusts (REITs) had been coming back after a tough 2015, but travel-related stocks sank in the aftermath of the attacks in Belgium, especially for companies with an international presence. U.S. lodging sector fundamentals have been strong, creating concern about the extent to which further growth can be supported. Plus, interest rate survey data from Trepp.

The recent $12.8 billion bid by Anbang Insurance for Starwood Hotels and Resorts, even if it proves to be unsuccessful, highlights the ongoing flow of international capital into the U.S. real estate market. Changes adopted in late 2015 to the Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act (FIRPTA) are expected to bring additional overseas money to the United States, with foreign pension funds now exempted from FIRPTA tax and withholding. Plus, interest rate survey data from Trepp.