Covid-19 may have caused a precipitous decline in convention crowds in 2020, but it did not halt long-range plans to overhaul and expand convention centers in a number of key U.S. cities. Today that foresight is bearing fruit with grand new facilities able to host larger industry and trade gatherings than ever before.

Once a sprawling expanse of uncharted land, Las Vegas, Nevada, has evolved into the entertainment capital of the world, a gaming super-hub, and a premier destination for sports. This remarkable transformation didn’t happen overnight; it stemmed from decades of strategic planning, investment, and visionary zoning recommendations.

Developers share how different cities deployed creative ideas to help maintain urban vitality and business opportunities despite restrictions on public gatherings. Their successful techniques may outlast the pandemic.

This year, Urban Landprofiled each finalist for the 2020 ULI Urban Open Space Award. The winners have been announced and Domino Park is one of the two winners.

Ten venues provide places for community members to gather, play, compete, learn, and enhance wellness.

When events mega-company LiveNation approached Philadelphia design firm EwingCole about transforming the former Ajax Metal Company into a 3,000-person music venue and entertainment complex, it was a daunting proposition, said speakers at a recent ULI Philadelphia event which toured the site. Modeled off the iconic 1960s venue in San Francisco, Live Nation now operates six Fillmore-branded venues across the United States, with a seventh on the way in New Orleans.

Business improvement districts and other stakeholders are leveraging live music performances and other activities as a draw—both to prospective commercial tenants and to residents and visitors. Participants at a recent ULI Washington panel discussed both best practices and complicating factors when adding live-performance spaces to a neighborhood.

Thoughtful placemaking is fundamental to the success of any economically and socially viable city. Detroit’s downtown parks are both public assets and important attractions throughout each of Michigan’s four seasons.

PBS will broadcast a new documentary, 10 Parks That Changed America, on April 12th. Produced by WTTW in Chicago, the program identifies the 10 most influential urban parks in the country, from the era of America’s early settlers to the present day, ranging from the Squares of Savannah, Georgia, to the High Line of New York City.

Two urban parks—one in Oklahoma City, the other in Foshan, China—have been selected as winners of this year’s Urban Land Institute Urban Open Space Award.