ATLANTA—In late March, civil engineers, architects, planners, government officials, landscape architects, and others aligned with the land development industry joined in Atlanta for the two-day Land Development East Conference & Expo to learn and network.

The opening keynote explored "best bet" investments. The speaker, Jonathan David Miller, author of Emerging Trends in Real Estate, told attendees to invest in "green" over "brown" real estate and to be prepared to see more private-public partnerships for new road projects.

Another highlight of the event was Richard Heapes’ comments on examples of mixed-use developments throughout the country. Founder and principal of Street-Works, a mixed-use development consultant, Heapes discussed many projects, including the model development, Blueback Square, a $180 million multi-use development in West Hartford, Conn.

Plans for the Land Development West 2008 Conference & Expo are underway now. The event, taking place Nov. 13-14, 2008, in Los Angeles at the Sheraton Universal Studios, will include a range of sessions on topics such as planning, sustainability, trends, and opportunities in land development.

Confirmed speakers include Paul Zykofsky, director of the Center for Livable Communities, Sacramento, Calif., who will be speaking about the connection between land use and transportation. Also, Reid Ewing, University of Maryland, will present, Growing Cooler: Urban Development & Climate Change. Katherine Aguilar Perez, a vice president with Forest City, will be speaking on building livable communities.

For more information or to register, please visit www.ldwest.com.