We talked with the director of the Marché International des Professionnels de l’Immobilier, or MIPIM, the international real estate fair for the office, residential, retail, health, sports, logistics and industrial sectors, which takes place annually in March in Cannes, France. Ronan Vaspart tells us about the approach that will guide what will be the 31st edition of the fair, in 2020, and that it will have as its motto “The future is human”.
“The Future is Human tries to ensure that people – humans – remain at the centre of our business (…), and how to take care of their quality of life (…) within an urban environment.” Vaspart explains in this way, the general focus of the real estate fair in Cannes. “The first five Sustainable Development Goals, of the 17 proposed by the UN [in 2015], have to do with the human being: to eradicate poverty, hunger, to have good health and well-being, to have a quality education and to have gender equality, ”says Vaspar. He adds that, “our future is supported by three equally important pillars”: quality of life, long-term economic growth and environmental sustainability. In this regard, Vaspart assures that “a sustainable and human-centred business approach does not exclude long-term returns; in fact, the most influential players in the industry, who are at the forefront of sustainability and social inclusion, say that this approach really improves yields.”
Regarding the real estate business prospects, the director of MIPIM quotes the UN again, “by 2050, two-thirds of the population will live in cities.” On the other hand, Ronan Vaspart believes that, “much of the urban growth is happening and will happen in Africa and Asia,” and cites the example of Egypt, which, “plans to build 20 new cities to house 30 million inhabitants, including a new administrative capital, Wedian City, east of Cairo.
When the time comes to analyse the real estate market’s target audience, Vaspart believes that, “with the younger generations, well-being and transformative experiences are replacing the desire for material consumption and private property.” Indeed, “these new generations are more likely to live, work and remain in co-spaces, than their parents.” The problem discerned by the director of the Cannes fair is that, “these generations often have less financial security, since wage growth is stagnated compared to rising housing prices, and social support from the State in many developed countries has weakened ». Precisely, “this is one of the challenges, and opportunities, that we will analyse during MIPIM 2020”.
In regards to the changes we are experiencing today, Vaspart points out that, “technology (…) offers enormous opportunities to develop, promote or manage buildings and cities in a more efficient and effective way”. In conclusion, the director of MIPIM says, “the repercussions of not acting are much greater than the real effect of the structural changes we are witnessing.”
Source: MIPIM
