One tech innovation driving the industry through not driving is the growing use of autonomous cars. In addition, the growth of e-commerce and the rise of co-working platforms such as WeWork will affect how real estate is built, developed and managed.

E-commerce—showing no signs of slowing down—has a tremendous need for warehouse space and fulfillment centers, three times that of traditional brick-and-mortar retail, according to Hamid Moghadam, co-chair of the 2015 ULI Fall Meeting steering committee as well as CEO and chairman of the board of Prologis. While new businesses may have fluctuations in needs for space, technology can actually help owners and operators make sure assets are being used to the full potential.

"The good news is that if you own scarce assets, someone will be able to extract more utilization from them," Moghadam said.

Driverless cars also have the potential to remake the way that cities, roads and other infrastructure are designed and built.

"We're designing cars that are very different in a very short time horizon compared to real estate," said Mark Platshon, senior adviser with BMW i-Ventures Fund and a longtime investor in and adviser to technology startups. "Some cities may lose 30% of their cars to UBER. It's going to change things." Overcoming resistance to autonomous vehicles will be a challenge and will take longer to overcome than developing the technology itself, Platshon said.

Truck- as well as car-makers are making great leaps forward in the realm of autonomous vehicles, which hold the promise of safer roads, greater fuel efficiency and cleaner air, as well as creating greater efficiency in logistics and day-to-day business operations. "There are natural affinity groups for these cars: the elderly, for example," said Randy Rowe, ULI global chairman and chairman of Green Courte Partners LLC, a private equity real estate investment firm focused on niche real estate strategies.