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Combining the best of urban and suburban living, they will meet the needs of more demographic groups, according to a new ULI report, Demographic Strategies for Real Estate, prepared for ULI’s Terwilliger Center for Housing by John Burns Real Estate Consulting.

Special assessments, which tie property taxes directly to benefits, are being used in some of the country’s highest-profile transit projects.

Ten projects deliver compact residential spaces that offer more affordable city living options, foster community, and minimize environmental impacts.

The benefits of creative placemaking, along with best practices and successful case studies in cities throughout the United States, are explored in the ULI report, Creative Placemaking: Sparking Development with Arts and Culture. The report presents the business case and process for successful creative placemaking, defined in the report as a process that integrates arts and culture with good design.

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg today announced the Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Mayors Challenge, a competition to inspire American cities to generate innovative and replicable ideas that improve city life. Bloomberg Philanthropies will award one $5 million grand prize and four $1 million additional prizes to the cities with the best ideas.

Former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Airbnb chief executive officer and cofounder Brian Chesky, Wells Fargo chairman and president John Stumpf, and California Governor Jerry Brown headline the list of innovators and thought leaders scheduled to speak at ULI’s 2015 Fall Meeting, set for October 5–8 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco.

Local food is a hot topic. From community gardens that provide healthy food and a place for neighbors to meet, to resorts and tourist attractions that feature regular farmers markets and restaurants with farm-to-table dinners, the popularity of food and its source is driving real estate development in not-so-subtle ways. Read more to learn what some developers are doing to capitalize on this trend.

Last week, the Federal Reserve raised its target funds interest rate by 25 basis points to 0.50 percent—the first increase since 2006. Residential mortgage REITs gained 3.37 percent Wednesday on the belief that higher interest rates will benefit the sector, and the manufactured-homes sector also posted strong gains.

Ongoing uncertainty about the timing of a Federal Reserve interest rate hike and its impact on REITs has kept potential IPOs on the sidelines. In addition, the Internal Revenue Service issued regulations in June that clamped down on tax-free REIT spin-offs that were a significant source of growth for specialty REITs. Plus, interest rate survey data from Trepp.

Capitalizing on a strong fourth quarter, hotel real estate investment trusts posted a healthy 25 percent total return for the year. However, hotel consulting firm STR is expecting 2.8 percent RevPAR growth this year, which would be the lowest since 2009. Plus, interest rate survey data from Trepp.