Creating places where people love to be

As the urban population in Europe is expected to grow by 70 million people before 2050, the demand for commercial space and attainable housing will be growing rapidly. By making deliberate investment, asset management and redevelopment choices, we are convinced that we can make a contribution to SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities – make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. The pendulum of Redevco’s strategy will swing heavily towards investments that address the two great challenges of our age: climate change and how to preserve liveable cities.

The impact of climate change is evident everywhere and we urgently need to find solutions for heat stress, flooding, water shortages and reduced biodiversity. Growing urban populations will exacerbate these problems but developing greenfields will only create new ones. We must avoid further suburban sprawl and find solutions in the existing urban fabric of our cities. The other Herculean task we face is to make our cities more liveable. We believe well-connected urban environments with a mix of functions such as shops, offices, affordable housing, community services, catering establishments and cultural facilities will keep cities attractive for citizens and visitors alike.

Helping our cities become more liveable and sustainable

In recent years we have adopted a holistic approach to investments in urban areas by diversifying away from our traditional High Street retail portfolio into mixed-use investments and other property sectors such as residential, hospitality and leisure but also retail warehouse parks. In order to deliver the right property in the right place, it is important to know a city and its communities very well. Our deep and long lasting experience in retail, the most sensitive of all property sectors to technological advances such as e-commerce and fickle social trends, makes us well-placed to adapt to the new investment world that is emerging and help our cities become more liveable, sustainable and future-proof.

To be successful in expanding our focus we need to have a deep understanding of all the sub-segments of mixed-use and their specific supply/demand fundamentals. Social trends like an ageing population, more single households and growing demand for suitable, high-quality build-to-rent housing solutions make the ‘living sector’ particularly attractive alongside demands for co-working facilities, leisure and hospitality. City centres will continue to evolve to match the needs of people. With a dedicated Research & Strategy team at Redevco, we continue to scan external sources and make use of our local teams’ expertise to map and track the impact of these trends on the future of cities and real estate.

To ensure our strategy intentionally achieves the right impact, for our Research department it is a key priority to learn how to measure the social value of our investments. In the year(s) to come, we want to test and validate our assumption that an investment with no social value has no future value, as taking deliberate actions to create social value in the investments we make might enhance economical value By sharing our knowledge and experience, we want to inspire others to join the movement. Together we can create future-proof vibrant places in unison with nature where people love to be.