ATLANTA—Large volumes of development dollars have been invested into cities—especially large metropolitan areas like Atlanta. That trend, says attorney Joel Shackelford, partner at Kaufman Dolowich & Voluck, can largely be traced back to one root: huge amounts of foreign investments into American real estate, which is seen as a safe investment both in terms of cash flow and asset appreciation.

"China has been a big player in this sort of urban development," Shackelford tells GlobeSt.com. "Demand for such new construction has been exceeding supply, in my experience, causing property values and rental rates to increase."

As Shackleford sees it, this, along with the low interest rates for borrowing, will encourage more development. Still, he doesn't think interest rates will affect urban building much because those deals are largely cash-based from foreign investors who don't need to borrow.