MIPIM 2016: Life on Mars, “peak furniture” and technology-free gardens were all discussed in response to the Estates Gazette’s debate: How close are we to creating the ultimate future city?
Cushman & Wakefield global tech group leader, Juliette Morgan, said that technology would drive change in cities. She cited a US housing development in a deprived area where facial recognition technology is used so parents can be alerted when their children return home as an example of how technology is shaping our cities.
Smart cities, driverless cars and a 3D printing hub open to local residents in Berlin are all further examples of the influence of technology on our urban areas, said Morgan. However, at the same time Morgan sees a trend emerging for technology-free zones and thinks in the future there will be a business where people pay to spend time in an area without WiFi or data access.
Emerging cities to look out for include Denpasar in Bali and Medellín in Colombia, which are both relatively cheap places for digital creatives to work, innovate and create. “Medellín has gone from drug central 10 years ago to somewhere where people go to innovate and create,” she said. The integration of art and accessibility to different social groups are inspiring developments like Silvertown, E20.
“We are learning from places that are quite unexpected,” she added.
However, Morgan did not think Silicon Valley should be spending so much money on researching how we could develop on Mars, suggesting we spend more time and resources on making our existing (earthbound) spaces such as the Gobi desert more accessible.
Jackie Newstead, global head of real estate at Hogan Lovells, said: “We think of futuristic cities as cities for young people to live in; we don’t normally think of them as places for families or old people to live. So for me, creating future cities is about creating cities everyone can live in.”
David Ellis, director of Benoy, believes place-making and mixed-used developments are critical for creating vibrant cities where people want to spend time. “One of the issues with certain development organisations, like a retail-focused REIT, is they may not have the internal organisational structure which enables them to think about schemes in a mixed-use way. But actually that’s how we bring about people colliding with each other and I think that’s what makes cities,” said Ellis.
He said places needed a “social anchor”, such as Central Saint Martins school of design in King’s Cross or schools, churches and cultural centres around Marylebone High Street.
“It gives a sense of place and brings people with different needs and wants to an area. For me, it comes down to place-making – do I want to be there?”
Benoy is bringing that sense of place to its projects. It has been hired by the regional government and private partners in western Colombia to create a 139,367-acre masterplan for Cali city.
“There was a huge amount of work and the thing they couldn’t get to grips with was storytelling, the overlaying narrative, which is what we helped them create for their city,” said Ellis.
However, he warned against the phenomenon of cities being “slightly overzealous in zoning”, such as in India.
“We are looking with great interest to India where [prime minister Narendra] Modi has committed to 100 new smart cities. But the worry is they are not going to be great cities, but isolated zones of activities,” said Ellis.
One city that is already doing it well is Copenhagen, which is aiming to be fossil free by 2050.
“It aims to be highly sustainable, socially sustainable and highly liveable,” said Ellis. “That is a great description of what your future city should be like.”
Morgan sees the future city as somewhere where people reject property ownership and start making things again.
“Last year Ikea announced we had reached peak furniture,” she said. “People are now looking to rent Monday to Thursday and use Airbnb at the weekend, so business needs to evolve
to cater for that.”
She cited a trend already emerging in London for community maker space, space where people gather to make and share skills.
“Tool libraries with shared carpentry tools and 3D printing are bringing people together where more traditional libraries aren’t being used as they used to be,” said Morgan.
So, are we anywhere near creating an ideal future city?
“I think we are a million miles away,” said Ellis. But he added that was not necessarily a failure.
Why? Because when cities in countries like Singapore are well connected with very organised governance, it can all feel a little bit too clinical, he said.
“It needs a bit of the chaos that perhaps you get in London and cities
like New York”, said Ellis.
Perfection, it seemed, was not the future.
The panel:
- Jackie Newstead, global head of real estates, Hogan Lovells
- David Ellis, director and London studio head, Benoy
- Juliette Morgan, global tech group leader, Cushman & Wakefield
- Chaired by Emily Wright, global and features editor, Estates Gazette
In partnership with:
- Cushman & Wakefield
- Hogan Lovells
- Benoy
• To send feedback, e-mail Louisa.Clarence-Smith@estatesgazette.com or tweet @LouisaClarence or @estatesgazette
