Interface publication: Integrating real estate studies into planning scholarship

This post was written by Sara Özoğul.

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, UGoveRN embarked on an initiative to support early career scholars at the intersection of planning and real estate studies.

This initiative was part of the Connect21 project (co-led by Tuna Tasan-Kok, Nagwa Kady, Champaka Rajagopal, and myself), which aimed to address multiple knowledge gaps on the real estate industry in the broader field of Urban Studies. The project’s objective was to establish an interdisciplinary and interprofessional network comprising Urban Planning and Real Estate scholars, as well as professional real estate organizations. Together, we collaboratively developed three public webinars and two early-career seminars.

Connect21 Webinar Series (2021)

The early career seminars aimed to fill a void in tailored support and networking opportunities for emerging researchers grappling with the complexities of urban development, and laid the groundwork for fruitful collaborations and a joint Interface publication with the title “Pushing Boundaries: Integrating Real Estate Studies Into Planning Scholarship.

Interface publications in the journal Planning Theory & Practice foster debates and encourage analytical reflection on practice and engagement with theory. Every edition of Interface provides a comprehensive exploration of a current theme, presenting a range of contributions that examine the topic from various viewpoints.

Our joint Interface publication had three targets:

1. To shed light on challenges associated with integrating insights from real estate and planning studies.
2. To promote symbiotic relationship between planning and real estate, advocating for a holistic approach transcending disciplinary boundaries.
3. To highlight innovative approaches, skillfulness, and boundary-pushing efforts of early career researchers in the field.

All early career Interface contributors participated in one of the UGoveRN seminars, offering deeply personal reflections on the topic. The Interface concludes with a reflection by Professors Tuna Tasan-Kok and Mike Raco, leading scholars in planning and urban governance. They underscore essential insights from the early career researchers’ contributions and emphasize the necessity of cultivating new methodologies with a critical perspective.

The table of contents of the final publication looks as follows:

• Pushing Boundaries: An Introduction to Integrating Real Estate Studies into Planning Scholarship by Sara Özoğul
• Integrating Qualitative Insights from Urban Planning into Real Estate Scholarship: A Critical Reflection on Methodological Issues by Tunbosun Oyedokun
• Which Side Are You On? The Challenge of Developer-Focused Engaged Scholarship by Yinnon Geva
• Dynamics of Mixed-Use Development: A Case for Integrating Real Estate Knowledge in Planning Studies by Mariam Hussain
• Exploring Real Estate Literature to Analyze and Make Sense of Complex Planning Cases in Latin America by Monica Lopez Franco
• Engaging with Practitioners: Incorporating Dialogues with Real Estate Actors into Planning Discourse by Federico Camerin
• Forging a Stronger Link: The Accelerated Integration of Planning and Real Estate Research through the Covid-19 Pandemic by Martyna Joanna Surma
• Researching in the Intersection of Planning and Real Estate – a Call for a Hybrid Approach by Kaio Nogueira
• Crossing Boundaries in Real Estate and Planning Research and Why it Matters by Tuna Taşan-Kok and Mike Raco

The full publication can be accessed here.