Tennessee

What Nashville’s top ‘Emerging Trends’ ranking means for the city’s growth | Opinion

Published

4 months ago

November 14, 2025

Press Room

What Nashville’s top ‘Emerging Trends’ ranking means for the city’s growth | Opinion

People want to move to Nashville and Middle Tennessee, and the region continues to experience rapid growth. But challenges remain, along with the opportunity to shape its development.

Jennifer Carlat
| Guest Columnist

Nashville ranked sixth in the nation among “markets to watch” in the latest Emerging Trends in Real Estate® report.
A welcoming regulatory environment, trained workforce, and strong domestic migration contribute to Nashville’s high ranking.
Continued growth creates jobs and funds public services, but also requires addressing housing and infrastructure needs.

The Urban Land Institute and PwC recently released the 47th annual Emerging Trends in Real Estate® report and for the eleventh year, Nashville made the top ten “markets to watch” this year at number six.

Nashvillians don’t need a report to alert them that Nashville and Middle Tennessee continue to grow and develop at an astonishing rate, for an incredibly long run. We see the cranes, carefully make our way through construction zones, meet new neighbors and co-workers, and marvel (and sometimes mutter) at new offices, residential developments, hotels, retail and restaurants.

The challenges that come with Nashville’s continued growth

So, what does the Emerging Trends Report tell us?

First, while Nashville’s growth may appear to be going like gangbusters, there is significant uncertainty facing those who invest in development, as well as the architects, engineers, developers, construction workers, and many others involved in creating new development. The report notes several issues. All of which are present in Nashville, including the following:

Economic and financial issues, such as interest rates and the cost of capital, concerns about job and income growth, and, of course, inflation.

Issues specific to development, including the cost and availability of labor; federal, state and local regulations and where they conflict; and increasing operating costs driven by tariffs and inflation.

Finally, social and political issues impacting development include immigration policy, which affects both the workforce and demand for new development; the cost and availability of housing; and the divide between political parties.

What Nashville and Middle Tennessee have going for them

Second, the report highlights why Nashville again made the top ten — what trends, decisions and investments we have going for us. As the report notes, demand for new homes, offices, industrial and retail spaces is driven by demographics, immigration and domestic migration.

The Sun Belt, and Nashville in particular, continues to be welcoming for jobs and residents. While many Sun Belt cities have seen their 2021-2022 migration slow significantly, Nashville and Middle Tennessee continue to experience strong domestic migration.

Why?

Nashville and Middle Tennessee are known for having both a moderate climate and a welcoming regulatory and tax environment. We boast access to the Southeast and the country. We have a trained workforce and a number of colleges and universities educating the next generation. We’re also known for valuing creativity and being welcoming. For all these reasons and more, we continue to draw new residents, which drives growth.

We know, then, that Nashville and Middle Tennessee continuously rank highly for both investment and development, and we have some ideas on why.

The connection between growth and quality of life

But what does this mean for our city?

Investment, development and growth impact all Nashvillians and Middle Tennesseans. On a very basic level, these are jobs. Jobs in investing, building, using and re-using buildings. Each of these jobs pays our neighbors, who invest their wages back into Nashville through restaurants, stores, services and other local businesses, creating even more jobs.

Growth leads to quality of life, but not only in a physical way.

Do you like the building? Does it feel welcoming? Does it add to the neighborhood?

But growth also improves quality of life as it circulates wages, creates demand for new jobs, and adds to the city’s coffers to buy services such as parks, libraries, fire stations and police departments that we value.

Meanwhile, how we undertake investment, development and growth also impacts each of us. Our city has had recent, sometimes tough, conversations on investing in transportation and transit. We’ve discussed whether to allow new types of housing to address our housing shortage. We’ve considered how to invest in aging infrastructure as we serve current residents and accommodate new residents and businesses.

What Nashville’s ranking really means and the work ahead

As the executive director of ULI Nashville, representing our 1,100+ members in all disciplines related to land use and development, I am thrilled that Nashville once again made the top ten “markets to watch” across the US in the Emerging Trends in Real Estate®. I’m happy about what it signals for our members, especially in a moment like 2025, when there is a lot of uncertainty.

But I am more focused on what the ranking means — what Nashville’s strength means — for how ULI Nashville, our partners and Nashvillians can work together to harness and shape growth in our city.

A high ranking feels validating, but we all know that maintaining this pace of growth — while trying to preserve our welcoming culture, watch out for our neighbors and consider what changes are coming and how we can prepare — is a challenge.

ULI Nashville and its members are here to be partner. We want to connect, inspire and lead. We are bringing our perspective to the tough conversations about how we grow and strengthen Nashville. The Emerging Trends in Real Estate® report is just the beginning. The real work is in conversations on mobility, housing, infrastructure and creating places Nashvillians deserve.

Jennifer Carlat is the executive director of ULI Nashville, A trusted convener, collaborator communicator and educator of best practices on all aspects of city building.

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Tennessee Police Investigating Alleged Assault Involving ‘Reacher’ Star Alan Ritchson

Published

7 hours ago

March 23, 2026

Press Room

Tennessee Police Investigating Alleged Assault Involving ‘Reacher’ Star Alan Ritchson

Police officers in the Nashville suburb of Brentwood, Tennessee are currently investigating an alleged assault that occurred over the weekend involving Reacher star Alan Ritchson.

TMZ broke the story by publishing a video that reportedly features Ritchson in an altercation with a neighbor named Ronnie Taylor. The man said that the situation unfolded over two days, beginning on Saturday when he claimed he witnessed Ritchson speeding through the neighborhood on a motorcycle causing a disturbance. To show his displeasure, Taylor claims he raised a middle finger to Ritchson and the actor returned the gesture.

Then on Sunday, Taylor tells TMZ that he spotted Ritchson on his motorcycle again, this time joined by two individuals who are believed to be the actor’s young sons, also on motorbikes. Taylor claims that he asked Ritchson, “Can you fucking stop this please?”, at which point the situation allegedly turned physical. Ritchson is seen in the edited clip hitting Taylor in the grass of a front lawn. Ritchson’s green Kawasaki motorcycle is in the street while the two individuals witness the altercation from their motorbikes.

The clip, first published by TMZ on Sunday, picks up as Taylor is already on the ground. But in an interview with TMZ, he admitted that he instigated the physical confrontation by shoving Ritchson first. He also reportedly ran into the street to confront Ritchson, who then fell off his motorcycle and suffered “cuts and bruises” and a finger injury, per TMZ. The outlet also reported that Taylor “dared Alan to hit him” while Ritchson was still on the ground though the actor tried to leave the scene until he was shoved by Taylor. Additional footage of the incident is said to show a more clear picture of happened.

The Hollywood Reporter confirmed with Brentwood Police Captain Steve Pepin that an investigation is currently underway though “no arrests have been made” in the case. The investigation is expected to continue for several days.

Ritchson, a known motorcycle enthusiast who posed on a Ducati for a THR cover story in 2024, is back in the United States after filming back to back movies in Australia and New Zealand. He starred in Netflix’s War Machine, which just debuted on the streamer, for filmmaker Patrick Hughes. They reunited Down Under for a project inspired by the life of Navy SEAL Mike Thornton which was recently filming.

Reps for Ritchson have yet to comment.

Monday, March 23, 2:43 p.m.: Updated to include new comments from Ronnie Taylor from his live interview with TMZ.

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Titans named one of the NFL’s most improved teams this offseason

Published

19 hours ago

March 23, 2026

Press Room

Titans named one of the NFL’s most improved teams this offseason

The Tennessee Titans have made some significant additions to their roster this offseason as they attempt to pull themselves out of the basement of the AFC South.

The Titans have added talent on both sides of the ball and have relied heavily on system familiarity and trust as they rebuild a depleted roster. But how much difference did it make? Gilberto Manzano of Sports Illustrated believes Tennessee will be much improved and has them slated as the third-most improved through this point in the offseason.

3. Tennessee Titans
Notable additions: TE Daniel Bellinger, DT Jordan Elliott, CB Cor’Dale Flott, DL John Franklin-Myers, edge Jermaine Johnson II, LB Jacob Martin, WR Wan’Dale Robinson, C Austin Schlottmann, CB Alontae Taylor, DT Solomon Thomas
There was nowhere to go but up after a disastrous past few seasons. Two years ago, the Titans were big spenders in free agency and still ended up with the No. 1 pick in the 2025 draft, which they used on quarterback Cam Ward. However, it’s hard to doubt this latest spending frenzy, given that new coach Robert Saleh has a track record of building formidable defenses and has reunited with many of his reliable players from previous stops.
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On offense, Ward got an intriguing playmaker in Robinson, who’s coming off a breakout 2025 season with the Giants. The arrow is finally pointing up in Tennessee.

The Titans have taken a big swing at the free agency market in an attempt to reset the organizational floor. Now, it will be up to general manager Mike Borgonzi to follow up this impressive haul with another solid draft. If he can do that, the Titans organization will likely be pointed in the right direction.

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Tennessee vs Virginia live updates: Prediction, how to watch March Madness Round 2 game

Published

1 day ago

March 22, 2026

Press Room

Tennessee vs Virginia live updates: Prediction, how to watch March Madness Round 2 game

Follow all of Sunday’s NCAA Tournament second round games with USA TODAY Sports’ live updates.

Tennessee ruined the fun of Miami (Ohio) by dispatching the RedHawks rather handily in the first round, 78-56.

The Vols did so with little contribution from their star freshman Nate Ament, who went scoreless in just 18 minutes, as he was rested dealing with soreness from a high ankle sprain he suffered in late February.

Ja’Kobi Gillespie picked up the slack with 29 points, including a 6 of 11 performance from behind the arc.

Virginia overcame a slow start for No. 14 seed Wright State to pick up the program’s first NCAA Tournament win since they won the national championship in 2019.

Jacari White led the way for Virginia with 26 points vs. the Raiders as Ryan Odom got his first NCAA win with UVA as Cavs head coach.

Today’s winner advances to play the Kentucky/Iowa State winner in next week’s Sweet 16 in Chicago.

Here’s what you need to know about today’s second round matchup.

HIT REFRESH FOR UPDATES.

TEAMS	1H	2H	F
Tennessee	—	—	—
Virginia	—	—	—

Here are the starting lineups for both Virginia and Tennessee in Sunday’s second-round game of the Men’s NCAA Tournament:

Virginia

Malik Thomas (Guard)
Sam Lewis (Guard)
Dallin Hall (Guard)
Thijs De Ridder (Forward)
Johann Grunloh (Center)

Tennessee

Ja’Kobi Gillespie (Guard)
Bishop Boswell (Guard)
Nate Ament (Forward)
J.P. Estrella (Forward)
Felix Okpara (Center)

Thijs De Ridder is Virginia’s 23-year-old freshman from Belgium who has professional basketball playing experience overseas in Spain.

He was named to the All-ACC first team and all-rookie teams, and entered the Men’s NCAA Tournament as the Cavaliers’ leading scorer at 15.5 points per game. Though De Ridder hails from Brasschaat, Belgium, he did know a little bit about March Madness before Virginia’s first-round win over Wright State. … Including the great tradition of filling out brackets.

“When I was 17 and younger, I thought it was another tournament like others. I did some brackets when I was younger, but that was just for fun,” De Ridder told USA TODAY Sports on Thursday. “Every time (there was) an American guy on my team (overseas), they always talked about March Madness. Now that I’m here, it’s such an organization, and it just made me really excited to play here. Hopefully, we can do some great stuff.”

He finished in double figures with 10 points and six rebounds in addition to two assists in Virginia’s win vs. Wright State.

The Cavaliers held off a potential upset and defeated 14-seed Wright State in the first round of the Men’s NCAA Tournament on Friday, 83-72.

Jacari White led the way for Virginia with 26 points, while Sam Lewis added 12 and Malik Thomas added 11. De Ridder also finished in double figures with 10 points and six rebounds in addition to two assists.

The Cavaliers’ win marked their first in March Madness since they won it all in 2019. It ended a 0-3 stretch in their last three trips to March Madness.

What time is Tennessee vs Virginia?

Time: 6:10 p.m. ET, Sunday.

What channel is Tennessee vs Virginia? How to watch, streaming info

The game is airing on TNT, streaming via Fubo.

Virginia vs Tennessee prediction, odds

Odds provided by BetMGM, as of 11:30 a.m., Sunday.

∎ Wynton Jackson, Knoxville News Sentinel: Virginia 71, Tennessee 66

Ament’s questionable status swings our prediction towards Virginia. The Cavaliers had one of the best defenses in the ACC, and if Tennessee’s star freshman isn’t at his best, it’s tough to see how the Vols continue their hot shooting. They shot 53% from the floor and 45% from 3-point range against the RedHawks. Tennessee’s defense always keeps games close, but it may not have enough offensive juice to make a fourth straight Sweet 16.

John Leuzzi: Tennessee
Jordan Mendoza: Virginia
Ehsan Kassim: Virginia
Blake Schuster: Tennessee
Moneyline: Tennessee (-115); Virginia (-105)
Spread: Tennessee (-1.5)
Over/under total: 137.5

Nate Ament injury update: Will Vols freshman star play today vs Virginia?

All-SEC freshman Nate Ament had his first scoreless game of the season in the 78-56 win against Miami (Ohio) in the first round.

Ament is still dealing with soreness from the high ankle sprain he suffered against Missouri on Feb. 24. He still expects to play against Virginia and throughout the rest of the NCAA Tournament.

“There’s no chance I’d sit out a March Madness game,” he said. “It’s about what can we do to get back to 100%, or as close to it as we can.”

Nate Ament 2026 NBA Draft, mock draft prediction

No. 11 overall to Portland Trail Blazers

Kalbrosky’s Analysis:

After a relatively slow and inefficient start to the season, Tennessee freshman Nate Ament is starting to realize some of his lofty expectations. The freshman averaged 21.6 points per game while shooting 38.9 percent on 3-pointers during a 13-game stretch before an injury against Alabama on Feb. 28. The All-SEC forward then had 27 points (4-of-6 on 3-pointers) with eight rebounds, four assists, three blocks and a steal against Auburn on March 12. It will only take one team to fall in love with Ament and given so much of what he brings to the table cannot be taught, that team is probably picking fairly early in the lottery.

See USA TODAY’s full mock draft here