Attendees from 10 of BOMA's 17 international affiliates are at the BOMA International Conference & Expo, including 36 from Canada, 26 from Japan and 22 from China. Today, the group (pictured above) learned about BOMA's global strategic plan, travel insights, an update on the International Property Measurement Standards and more at the International Council Workshop. The day also included educational sessions, ending with a walking tour of Brookfield's Downtown LA office portfolio led by Bert Dezzutti, the REIT's EVP of the Western Region.

Asia Pacific Real Estate Association chief executive Peter Verwer (right, with BOMA San Francisco's Marc Intermagggio, each holding their native flags) spoke about the state of real estate in AsiaPac. "In less than five years, it will be the world's wealthiest marketplace and home to the fastest-growing cities," he told the crowd. The factors making that so: a middle class growing by 370,000 people each day; urban productivity boosters; connecting economic diasporas as AsiaPac countries besides China become manufacturing hubs; the emergence of seamless AsiaPac capital markets; and a spate of economic reform.

Vickerman & Associates' John Vickerman spoke about impacts of the Panama Canal expansion and port cities. 90% of global trade travels along the Marine Silk Road, he says, which connects most of the world's largest ports. But the US isn't an example of biggest nor using best practices—places like Europe and Asia are already in the fifth generation of automating their ports, and North American container growth lags behind other global regions. While NAFTA countries once accounted for two-thirds of the global economy, by 2019, they will be less than a third. Ten of the world's busiest ports are in Asia, with six of those in China alone (the two busiest are Shanghai and Singapore).