Connect21 Webinar Series (2021)

About the webinar series

Real estate investment and development are key processes and contentions that shape contemporary cities. While the key players in these processes – investors, developers, urban policymakers and planners – received heightened attention in urban planning in recent years, the discipline continues to grapple with the complexity and fast-paced nature of the real estate industry.

The Connect21 Webinar Series tackled new urban development dynamics instigated by the Covid19 pandemic. It was part of UGoveRN’s Connect21 project which aimed to address multiple knowledge gaps on the real estate industry in the wider Urban Studies by establishing an interdisciplinary and interprofessional network of Urban Planning and Real Estate scholars, and professional real estate organisations to collaboratively develop four public webinars and two early-career seminars.

Organizers

The webinar series was developed by Sara Özogul, Nagwa Kady, Tuna Tasan-Kok and Champaka Rajagopal.

Collaborators

Institutional partners of the Connect21 project were the African Real Estate Society, The Latin American Real Estate Society, the AESOP Young Academics Network and the European Real Estate Society PhD Network.

Webinar 1: Uncertainty and change in planning and real estate dynamics

The first session of the Connect21 Webinar Seminar took place on May 26, 2021.

Planning and real estate dynamics are inherently intertwined. Covid19, however, disrupted established practices and relations between planners and real estate industry actors. 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. In this webinar, international experts from academia and practice will debate the effects of covid19 on urban development from planning and real estate perspectives. 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’?

Speakers

Kathy Pain

Professor of Real Estate Development, Henley Business School, University of Reading

Fuad Malkawi

Senior Urban Development Specialist, The World Bank

Alexandre Lamot

Managing Partner at A Lamot & Co

Sara Özogul

Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Amsterdam

Webinar 2: Blurred boundaries and dealmaking in urban real estate development

The second session of the Connect21 Webinar Seminar took place on June 23, 2021.

Planners and real estate industry actors are dependent on each other for financing, regulating, and implementing urban real estate development. In this process, boundaries between public and private sectors, roles, and responsibilities are often blurred. The covid19 pandemic has accentuated this trend: cities are confronted with a growing number of issues (inadequate housing supplies, deficient amenities, property vacancies, inner-city retail challenges, etcetera) that can only be solved through close collaboration between planning authorities and real estate firms. In this webinar, international experts from academia and practice will debate the effects of covid19 on blurred boundaries and dealmaking in cities from planning and real estate perspectives. Are planning authorities considering the dynamic needs and preferences of the real estate industry, and vice versa? To what extent are new forms of collaboration emerging, or are longstanding alliances and disputes simply continuing? And what are the short-term and long-term consequences of changing interdependencies and ways of dealmaking between planners and real estate industry actors?

Speakers

Emma Street

Associate Professor of Urban Policy and Governance, Henley Business School, University of Reading

François Viruly

Associate Professor of Property Economics, Property Investment and Property Finance, University of Cape Town

Eric Huybrechts

Manager of International Affairs, L'Institut Paris Region

Champaka Rajagopal

Independent Urban Development Specialist

Webinar 3: (Mis)matches between Urban Policies and Real Estate Industry Activities

The third session of the Connect21 Webinar Seminar took place on December 3, 2021.

Real estate actors tend to adapt swiftly to market fluctuations but often lament the lack of flexibility from the public sector. Meanwhile, public sector actors face complicated administrative processes to change existing regulations, visions and targets. The Covid19 pandemic, however, triggered far-reaching changes in a short amount of time that required responses from both the property industry and the public sector in relation to urban real estate development. In this webinar, international experts from academia and practice will debate the effects of covid19 on the creation of (mis)matches between urban policies and real estate industry activities. What trends are driven by Covid19, ranging from office conversions to temporary property uses and suburban development activities? How do local planners, policy makers and real estate industry actors reflect on these trends and devise their respective strategies? And how do (mis)matches ultimately affect our cities?