It is now over a decade since more than 50 per cent of the world's population found itself living in cities. By 2030, 91 per cent of growth in global consumption will come from city dwellers. And the United Nations has predicted that between 2017 and 2050, half of the world's population growth will occur in Africa, with Nigeria expected to overtake the United States as the world's third most populated country.
Times, as the saying goes, are changing. And so are the challenges facing urban administrators who find themselves confronted by the need to house growing populations, develop sustainable transport infrastructure, build new schools and hospitals, adapt office space to new working norms and provide for an ageing population in Europe and a young city population in emerging countries.
With these changes in mind, MIPIM 2018 has taken the future of life in cities as its central theme under the banner "Mapping World Urbanity". Over the course of the four-day event, the 24,500 participants, including over 5,000 investors, from 100 countries will have access to a host of conference panels and workshops covering subjects that range from the future of city growth, smart cities, case studies including urban policies in Germany, the future of urban development in Africa and how new technology is impacting real estate, particularly in cities and towns.
German delegation is the third largest
Confirming MIPIM's commitment to providing a business platform for the international real estate community, 2018 will see a significantly increased presence from African countries, notably Kenya, Senegal, Morocco and South Africa. Given the predicted surge in Africa's population by 2050, MIPIM's wide-ranging conference programme will look at how investors can make strategic decisions given the scale and diversity of real estate development across the African continent and how African countries can handle urban growth without necessarily having industrialization as a driving force for such growth.
With representatives from over 500 cities and local authorities attending MIPIM, the annual closed-door Mayors and Political Leaders Think Tank will take a long, hard look at people-centric cities. Among the German politicians and mayors scheduled to be in Cannes are Peter Feldmann, Mayor of Frankfurt, Thomas Geisel, Mayor of Düsseldorf, Burkhard Jung, Mayor of Leipzig, Hans Wilhelm Reiners, Mayor of Munich, Henriette Reker, Mayor of Cologne and Dorothee Stapelfeldt, Minister of Urban Development of Hamburg.
While German cities and regions from the western half of the country have long attended MIPIM, participation by their equivalents from the east of Germany has been less evident. This year, Leipzig is making a first appearance at MIPIM, as part of a German Cities and Regions pavilion that has doubled in size. Germany's delegation will include public and private sector leaders from Berlin, Munich, Hamburg, Stuttgart, Frankfurt, Düsseldorf, Hanover, Nuremberg and the Rhine Necker region.
With major German cities, led by Berlin, continuing to attract real estate investors' interest, the German delegation at MIPIM is the third largest of the 100 countries represented. On March 14, Burkhard Jung, Mayor of Leipzig and Vice President of the Association of German Cities, will address MIPIM delegates on the future of German cities between 2030 and 2050 and discuss development and investment opportunities in a world where cities are the driving force behind national economies. And in the prestigious MIPIM Awards to be held on March 15, German projects are finalists in the Best Hotel & Tourism Resort, Best Residential Development and Best Urban Regeneration Project categories.
Cities look for sustainable solutions for future generations
Given the continuing growth in urban populations, the issue of sustainable development remains a top priority for city planners and administrators. While it is now the norm to construct buildings that are green and sustainable, attention is increasingly being paid to mobility, infrastructure, energy efficiency and the use of materials in new construction.
By 2050, the EU has a stated objective of cutting greenhouse gas emissions to 80 per cent below the 1990 levels. March 13 will see MIPIM host two major conferences devoted to the low carbon economy. Among the subjects to be addressed are how energy use can be improved by passive house technology and the refurbishment of old buildings; the need to replace fossil fuels by electricity and renewables; and how new technology and innovative building materials can contribute to meeting the EU's goals.
One of the key challenges facing the real estate industry and city administrations is how to move forward with urban development in a manner that meets the expectations of the younger generation. In what promises to be a disruptive address to the international property community, MIPIM's opening keynote will be given by 20-year old American writer, lecturer and activist in the cause of young people, Adora Zvitak.
A child prodigy, Adora Zvitak published her first book aged eight and two years later she spoke at the prestigious TED conference on "What Adults Can Learn from Kids" - attracting five million viewers online. At MIPIM she will urge real estate leaders to adopt "childish" thinking by adopting bold ideas, wild creativity and optimism. Following her keynote, Adora Svitak will moderate the Thinkers & Leaders panel: "Urbanity: New Rules for New Cities".
Proptech goes mainstream at MIPIM
The impact, sometimes disruptive, of new technology on the real estate industry has been focused on at MIPIM for the past two years via the popular MIPIM Startup Competition, the conference programme and the Innovation Forum. 2017 saw the launch of the inaugural MIPIM Proptech Summit in New York as the flagship event of the NYC Real Estate Tech Week. With over 800 delegates from 500 companies in 33 countries, the summit proved a huge success and confirmed that the international property sector is gradually adopting new technology innovation in its global strategy.
At MIPIM, discussion is expected to focus on the fact that commercial real estate has lagged behind other industries when it comes to spending on big data or analytics. And there will be plenty of examples of how new technology is changing old habits, such as the use of real-time 3D, virtual reality and cloud computing to allow people to visualize buildings and real estate projects using "virtual" tours.
As part of its remit to provide a business, knowledge-sharing and networking platform for the international real estate community, MIPIM is this year launching MIPIM Proptech Europe which will take place in Paris, June 20-21. The new event will bring together key property decision makers from across the industry to meet with cutting-edge startups and technology companies and joins the portfolio of MIPIM events that now includes MIPIM, MIPIM Asia, MIPIM UK, MIPIM Proptech New York and MIPIM Proptech Europe.
