Connect21 Webinar: Uncertainty and Change in Planning and Real Estate Dynamics

On May 26, 2021, UGoveRN hosted the first Connect21 public webinar of the year. Connect21 is a collaborative project to bridge multiple knowledge gaps in global real estate research. For the project, UGoveRN partnered with international planning and real estate scholars, practitioners, the AESOP Young Academic Network (AESOP YA), the African Real Estate Society (AfRES), the European Real Estate Society PhD Network (ERES), the Future Leaders of the African Real Estate Society (FLAfRES) and the Latin American Real Estate Society (LaRES).

The webinar focused on planning and real estate dynamics, which are inherently intertwined. Covid19 disrupted established practices and relations between planners and real estate industry actors. Additionally, the pandemic shed light on longstanding shortcomings of planning for equitable cities, triggered new imaginations about urban life, and altered both policy and real estate industry priorities.

Presenters of the session were Kathy Pain, Professor of Real Estate Development at the University of Reading, and Fuad Malkawi, Senior Urban Development Specialist at The World Bank. Alexandre Lamot, Managing Partner at A. Lamot & Co Investment & Advisory Firm acted as discussant.

The discussion centred around the following questions:

• To what extent will planning policies and strategies be shaped by new sectoral, locational and investment priorities of the real estate industry, and vice versa?

• How can equitable urban development gain traction from renewed discussions on urbanism, basic infrastructures, and amenities in both planning and real estate circles?

• And will there be lasting change in the ways in which planning and real estate industry actors interrelate in this uncertain environment, or will interdependencies soon revert to ‘business as usual’?

The full recording of the webinar is available on UGoveRN's youtube channel: