Jessica Hsu

Alison M. Rice looks at the transformation of the Washington D.C. suburb of Merrifield, Va. from an industrial-suburban wasteland to a $542 million mixed-use development.

Homeowners have been downsizing their homes in the last five years, but now 84 percent of homeowners want to stay put or move into a larger home. This change in trend can be attributed to growing families and their need for more living space.

In the past four years, the real estate and housing downturn has drastically cut billings at architecture firms. However, the Architecture Billings Index shows improvement for a fourth consecutive month and the highest reading since November 2007.

San Francisco's 1985 downtown plan required large new office and hotel developments to incorporate public spaces, but the city is only now updating the requirements and reinforcing the initial goal of opening up privately owned public spaces (POPOS).

During and after Sandy, transportation workers had the responsibility of informing riders of changing conditions and schedules. Ray Rivera compares the different communication approaches of New Jersey Transit and the Long Island Rail Road.