Quality

While many rural towns across the U.S. are experiencing shrinking populations as young people pursue opportunities in more urban areas, the small town of Onalaska, WA has been growing. This is due in large part to the community’s investment in education and outdoor recreation.

This is a survey of 3,000 adults in the top 50 metropolitan statistical areas in the U.S. about the quality of life in their communities.

The rise of renting in the U.S. isn’t just about high housing prices, or preferences for city living, but about the flexibility to compete in today’s economy." This article examines the changes in trends of housing ownership versus renting.

Between 1998 and 2005, employment in the U.S. warehousing industry grew at a compound annual growth rate of 22.23%, and the number of establishments increased at compound annual growth rate of 9.48%. Over this same period of time, the price for transportation fuels increased dramatically and became much more volatile. In this paper we examine the microeconomic and macroeconomic forces that have enabled such rapid growth in the warehousing industry. We also analyze structural change through employment and warehouse construction starts data and show that a new breed of warehouse has emerged – the mega distribution center, or mega DC.

This article explores the rate of retail store closures, its effects on employment, and the role of economy market forces on the changes.

This study examines the potential changes in residential location choice in a scenario where shared autonomous vehicles (SAVs) are a popular mode of travel in the Atlanta metropolitan area. This hypothetical study is based on an agent-based simulation approach, which integrates residential location choice models with a SAV simulation model. The coupled model simulates future home location choices given current home location preferences and real estate development patterns. The results indicate that commuters may relocate to neighborhoods with better public schools and more amenities due to reductions in commute costs.

Using data from the recently released American Community Survey, this report examines population change in the 51 metropolitan areas with 1 million or more population, and focuses on the change in population in close-in neighborhoods, those places within 3 miles of the center of each metropolitan area’s primary central business district.

Bonobos, a popular menswear e-tailer, opened a brick and mortar store on Manhattan's Fifth Avenue, but you can't actually leave with anything. This article explains how the store works.

The 2017 Community and Transportation Preferences Survey echoes many of the major findings from the previous surveys. Residents in the fifty top metropolitan areas continue to be split on what they look for in a neighborhood. A small majority prefer the idea of a walkable community and more alternatives to driving, but suburban living remains highly attractive to a sizable portion of the community.

This paper examines the suburbanization of warehousing and trucking activity within US metropolitan areas between the 1980s and the present using Gini indices as a measure of concentration. While historical work exists on the relocation of transportation and warehousing activity to suburban locations, there has been little to document the most recent shifts in warehousing and logistics. This research does so via spatial analysis of Economic Census data, finding that while most US metropolitan areas have experienced decentralization in the spatial distribution of freight-related activity, there is also some growth in core counties, indicating that a more complex process is going on than simple suburbanization.

Nordstrom has officially opened its first store without inventory, testing a new format for the department store chain called Nordstrom Local.

This article looks at how "retailers are honing their distribution center strategy to meet current e-commerce demands.

Between April 18 and May 9, 2014, Davis, Hibbitts & Midghall, Inc. (DHM Research) conducted an online survey of respondents living in Clackamas, Multnomah, Washington and Clark counties about their current and preferred residential and neighborhood preferences. The objective of the survey was to assess general opinions and preferences around housing and neighborhood choices and factors that may influence those choices. Portland State University and Metro developed the questionnaire with input from DHM.

As e-commerce sales march ahead of in-store sales, the major issue discussed at the Retail Industry Leaders Association’s (RILA) Retail Supply Chain Conference: Logistics 2013 was best practices for developing and executing an omni-channel distribution strategy. And real estate—particularly distribution centers (DCs)—is a significant part of the process. This article reviews the main questions asked during the conference.

This article discusses the trend of corporate entities moving to downtown areas. The reasons include millennial generation, livability of downtown, industrial shift, active transportation access, etc.

At 92 million strong, millennials are an economic and demographic powerhouse. They’re also different from every preceding generation since they’ve grown up with personal computers and smartphones. They’re used to a connected world in which information, goods and services are readily available at the click of a button. This millennial mindset is shaping how the tenants of tomorrow are looking for space to live, work and shop and what they expect. In this whitepaper we break down the three most important millennial trends and what they mean for commercial real estate.

This article explores the different ways retailers might engage with their customers in the future as we shift into an evermore digital-physical hybrid world.

The Young and Restless—25 to 34 year olds with a bachelor’s degree or higher level of education, are increasingly moving to the close-in neighborhoods of the nation’s large metropolitan areas. This migration is fueling economic growth and urban revitalization.

For decades, many of the nation’s biggest companies staked their futures far from the fraying downtowns of aging East Coast and Midwestern cities. One after another, they decamped for sprawling campuses in the suburbs and exurbs. Now, corporate America is moving in the other direction.