Unlocking social value in property development

This post was written by Nagwa Kady.

Urban planning aims to safeguard public interests through spatial regulations that foster social value within communities. However, in our article “Lost in Translation: Unlocking Planning’s Potential to Harness Social Value from Property Development Projects”, we reveal how intended social value creation is often “lost in translation” between the public and private realms due to fragmentation at both institutional and project levels, impeding effectively harnessing social value objectives.

While public institutions set broad social value goals, property developers often focus on creating project-specific social benefits, with little connection to the wider public interest. This disconnect leaves public actors struggling with reduced influence over the implementation and long-term maintenance of social objectives.

The article explores the gaps between planning and property industry practices, highlighting the challenges that prevent social value from being effectively integrated into property development processes. We introduce a three-phase framework for tracing social value creation: perception, implementation, and operation. This approach explores how public and private sector actors understand social value, how these ideals are put into action, and the challenges of sustaining social value over time.

Using four case studies from Amsterdam, we illustrate how conflicting perceptions, reduced municipal influence, shifting roles in value implementation, and municipal passiveness hinder the realization of social benefits in development projects.

Our article fills a significant gap in urban planning research by focusing on the complex interplay between public and private sector actors involved in property development. Through this framework, we offer a pathway to better align efforts, ensuring that social value is not just an ideal but a tangible outcome of property development processes.

The full open-access article can be downloaded here: https://journals.polito.it/index.php/EJSD/article/view/414