Jamie Ritblat is an experienced entrepreneur with a 30-year track record in the UK real estate sector. As the founder and chairman of Delancey Real Estate, Mr Ritblat’s vision has translated into the delivery of several groundbreaking real estate investment and development projects.
This article will explore trends in neighbourhood and residential development, looking at the impact of COVID-19 and how it spawned an acceleration in urban greening and smart infrastructure while also examining how these changing priorities will shape the way we live and work in the future.
With a shortage in supply and an abundance in demand, the UK’s build-to-rent market continues to present promising opportunities for investors in 2023. Gathering pace both inside and outside of London, the UK’s buy to rent market offers more promising investment opportunities than any other country in Europe, according to a report by PlaceTech.
Although UK investors have been influenced by the macroeconomic slowdown, Knight Frank’s 2022/2023 Multi Housing Report suggests that investors are still attracted to the rental sector, chiefly due to the rental market’s resilience in times of economic uncertainty, with a shortage in supply of rental homes steadily driving up rents. Rental growth is predicted to persist throughout 2023, rising to slightly below 50% of the average tenant’s pre-tax income.
The UK’s housing supply shortage applies not only to build to rent but also to other asset classes, including purpose-built student accommodation. Research suggests that for every student bed available there are 3.1 students in the country, equating to a shortfall across the purpose-built student accommodation sector of some 1.5 million beds.
COVID-19 caused people all over the UK to reassess their priorities. The pandemic was a critical period for cities and communities, affecting the very core of urban living. Local governments were forced to react quickly to protect people’s lives, while simultaneously seeking out the best approaches to cope with the long-term impact of COVID-19. At the intersection of both challenges, one topic came to the fore: the importance of making Britain’s towns and cities more nurturing and human, creating a sense of connection and putting people above all else.
Todays cities are being planned with an emphasis on green spaces, creating new green streets, public spaces and corridors where people can immerse themselves in nature and socialise. Rather than needed to drive or rely on public transport, cities are being planned in such a way that amenities are within cycling or walking distance, creating a new neighbourhood-centred approach.
As well as providing more walking and cycling spaces, where transport is necessary, cities up and down the country are working towards providing clean, intelligent, autonomous and intermodal mobility as part of efforts to reach net zero targets. Meanwhile, smart and sustainable infrastructure and buildings leverage data to optimise energy consumption and manage resources, culminating in a circular model based on healthy circulation of resources, sharing, reuse and restoration, with an emphasis on reducing municipal waste volumes and producing locally, for example, through urban farming.
The impact of the pandemic on workplace design is still unfolding, extending far beyond the opportunity for hybrid working, with flexibility increasingly being incorporated in all aspects of workplace design. More and more businesses have come to recognise the importance of creating truly inclusive workplaces, meeting the needs of a team that is diverse in terms of gender, ethnicity and religion and supporting people who are neurodivergent, as well as those with disabilities.
Local governments are adapting their services and approaches to make them more inclusive, ensuring equal rights and participation, opportunities and jobs. Cities are evolving to become more human-centred, designed by and for citizens to promote mass participation in a collaborative process following open government policies.
Smart health communities leverage the latest digital technologies, with cities developing health care ecosystems focused not just on diagnosis and treatment but also screening, early intervention and disease prevention. Cities are increasingly adopting automated processes and operations, implementing data-driven planning approaches.
Cities are leveraging AI to ensure the safety and security of citizens while at the same time safeguarding their right to privacy and other fundamental human rights. Local governments are also emphasising the importance of data privacy, ensuring their preparedness for cyberattacks and recognising that data is a valuable city commodity.
Across the UK today, people are born and grow up spending their entire lives living in the same village. Delancey Real Estate’s objective in transforming the London 2012 Athletes Village into new legacy neighbourhood East Village was to ensure that, from the moment an individual is born to the day they buy or rent their first home, upsizing and downsizing over the years, there will always be a place for them, enabling them to stay close to other family members. Delancey Real Estate differentiates itself from its peers by supporting the whole life story, creating not just houses but communities where people
