After a six day swing from New York through London and Paris, here are some disparate observations and takeaways:

Rail and subway links within and between major Euro capitals and their airports put major U.S. cities to shame. We continue to fall further behind in our ability to move people and goods around and between our congested metros, and that spells long-term issues for real estate markets. Earlier this week, a French company just introduced the prototype for a train that will travel at 225 miles an hour. America does not have tracks or dedicated rail lines to accommodate high speed trains. Amtrak's so-called Acela Express in the Northeast corridor can run for spurts over 100 mph, but that's all.

London congestion pricing seems to work. Traffic appears more manageable in the center city. On Monday, truckers began getting charged £200 a visit into the congestion zone, if their rigs don't meet pollution requirements. Most locals accept the schemes. And the revenues go to mass transit and road repairs.

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Jonathan D. Miller

A marketing communication strategist who turned to real estate analysis, Jonathan D. Miller is a foremost interpreter of 21st citistate futures – cities and suburbs alike – seen through the lens of lifestyles and market realities. For more than 20 years (1992-2013), Miller authored Emerging Trends in Real Estate, the leading commercial real estate industry outlook report, published annually by PricewaterhouseCoopers and the Urban Land Institute (ULI). He has lectures frequently on trends in real estate, including the future of America's major 24-hour urban centers and sprawling suburbs. He also has been author of ULI’s annual forecasts on infrastructure and its What’s Next? series of forecasts. On a weekly basis, he writes the Trendczar blog for GlobeStreet.com, the real estate news website. Outside his published forecasting work, Miller is a prominent communications/institutional investor-marketing strategist and partner in Miller Ryan LLC, helping corporate clients develop and execute branding and communications programs. He led the re-branding of GMAC Commercial Mortgage to Capmark Financial Group Inc. and he was part of the management team that helped build Equitable Real Estate Investment Management, Inc. (subsequently Lend Lease Real Estate Investments, Inc.) into the leading real estate advisor to pension funds and other real institutional investors. He joined the Equitable Life Assurance Society of the U.S. in 1981, moving to Equitable Real Estate in 1984 as head of Corporate/Marketing Communications. In the 1980's he managed relations for several of the country's most prominent real estate developments including New York's Trump Tower and the Equitable Center. Earlier in his career, Miller was a reporter for Gannett Newspapers. He is a member of the Citistates Group and a board member of NYC Outward Bound Schools and the Center for Employment Opportunities.