ULI Urban Investment Network supports Glasgow Conference

Stuart Patrick, CEO of the Glasgow Chamber of Commerce, reports

As part of our business engagement work with the City Council on a new City Centre Action Plan, the Chamber held an all-morning conference on October 25 at the City of Glasgow College.

The event attracted over 100 delegates, who heard from a high profile panel of speakers and a selection of workstream representatives from different sectors within the city’s business community.

The event was specifically designed to include views from outside the city, and we were delighted to welcome Professor Valentino Castellani, former Mayor of Turin and President of the Organising Committee for the 2006 Turin Winter Olympics; Greg Clark, a city centre expert and senior fellow of the Urban Land Institute; plus Rod Holmes, former chairman of the Mersey Partnership and the moving force behind the transformational Liverpool One shopping area project. We were greatly assisted by the urban Land Institute’s Urban Investment Network in bringing all three speakers to the conference.

Bailie Liz Cameron, executive member for jobs and the economy at Glasgow City Council and vice-chair of the Glasgow Economic Leadership Board, spoke of the tough times which Glasgow faced during the 1980s, and the challenge of the crash of 2008.

She highlighted the significant work carried out to tackle city centre issues by “principal drivers” such as the Glasgow Economic Commission, “a triple helix of city, academia and business” underpinning the new City Centre Strategy.

The recently signed TIF in the Buchanan Quarter, was “one of the most important things to happen to the city”. The preparations for such initiatives as IFSD2 and the further education corridor, as well as the construction and planning for the 2014 Commonwealth Games were also highly important.

Bailie spoke of the importance of developing a technology strategy, covering the implications of Digital Glasgow, superfast broadband and the development of citywide hi-fi. Further she discussed the development of the Cathedral Street corridor and the plans to maximise the benefits of further and higher education.

Insights from Turin
Following Liz Bailie, Professor Castellani spoke of how Glasgow shared a history of economic turmoil with its twin Turin, as that city also lost a once robust manufacturing industry.

As Mayor, he had urged his city constantly to ‘raise the quality’ of its centre, investing substantially in its public realm. Notably, he argued successfully for the use of the city centre as a venue for awarding the medals won at the Winter Games.

If he were to offer Glasgow one piece of advice for 2014, Castellani suggested, it would be to find a use for the city centre during the Commonwealth Games.

He spoke of Turin’s ‘Artists’ Lights’ festival, with top artists invited to design high-quality Christmas lights every festive season - attracting visitors from all over Europe.

 During the subsequent Q&A session, he tackled the controversial subject of pedestrianisation, showing in his presentation a picture of one of Turin’s main squares, which had become a focal point for people to gather since cars had been removed.

Learning from Liverpool
Rod Holmes argued that Liverpool One had helped to turn the North-West port’s city centre around, raising it from the lowly position of 17th ranked retail city in the UK to fifth.

The theme of Rod’s speech was very much around the development and utilisation of skills within the city centre, an essential component for future development.  He suggested that investment should be focused on our cities to ensure the advancement of human capital as a model for city centre development.

Cities should be economic engines for creativity, entrepreneurship, innovation, skills, knowledge, research, excellence and marketing. This process should be led by bodies within the cities themselves, by focusing on the resources and attributes which local policy makers and businesses know so well, rather than waiting for national attention.

Greg Clark on BIDs
Business Improvement Districts in cities across the world was the focus of Greg Clark’s talk, highlighting that cities are like businesses, competing in contested markets for capital, visitors, talent and skills.

The internationally-acclaimed cities expert spoke of how BIDs are extremely important, with London currently developing 25 of these districts. Brooklyn, Auckland, Cape Town, Toronto, Philadelphia, Johannesburg and Tokyo were all analysed in depth.

Greg advised policy makers to build the ‘district business model’, so that it is clear what is required for commercial success of the district and its firms.  He said that business associations should contribute to vision and long-term outcomes, focusing on brand and customer experience while working to ensure there is coherent and worthwhile communication and coordination between businesses and city government.

Outlook
Jane Harrison, Group Manager for Strategic Regeneration Projects, Glasgow City Council, spoke on progress towards the City Centre Action Plan 2013. She focused on three critical projects for Glasgow city centre - the Buchanan Quarter initiative, the redevelopment of George Square and the new City Centre Strategy.

Glasgow Chamber chief executive Stuart Patrick concluded: “We know that we cannot expect the admirable major retail led regeneration projects underway at Buchanan Street and St Enoch to be the sole bedrock for the future. We should be looking to the growth of high skilled jobs in our city, targeting centres of excellence around our universities and colleges to help feed that growth – and we are already starting to do so.”

Photos of the event

SUMMIT 2011 REPORT

The purpose of this report is to present the key discussion topics from the Summit, illustrating the problems Europe’s cities are currently facing, as well as highlighting some of the possible solutions that were discussed by Summit participants. The report concludes by offering an analysis of some of the critical elements that will play a role in the future of successful urban development in Europe’s cities, as well as offering 10 key learning principles which could form the basis for further discussion.

Contents

• Europe Quo Vadis: The Road Ahead
• Value Capture Finance: One Size Does Not Fit All
• Infrastructure Financing: Which tools Will Fill The Investment Gap?
• Site Visits
• The Sustainable City: Project Critique Zuidas
• Developers and Citizens: Building Better Cities Together
• The Municipal Debt Crisis
• Investment Opportunities in the Current Climate: A Debate Between Cities and Investors
• Conclusion and Outlook

SUMMIT REPORT 2011

Developments in Urbanism and City functionality to watch in 2012

This latest UIN article seeks to explore some of the urban trends and challenges that might be realised in 2012.

Better connected cities:
Innovations in social media and mobile Internet provide people with instantaneous information on city services, statistics, transport and business links. New apps, such as ‘Streetline’ analyse city data to provide up-to date and accurate information on the best available parking spots. Apps such as these mean cities will possess better interconnectivity than ever, leading to smarter city knowledge, awareness and decision making. Informed city residents will not only enjoy the benefits of these advancements, but also actively drive on-going improvements in 2012.

Transparency:
A key challenge facing city authorities will be to take the lead regarding the social and environmental sustainability agenda. Transparency will be key to success and will be driven by the on-going advancements in city connectivity discussed in the previous paragraph. An encouraging number of cities are starting to measure and publicly disclose sustainability performance data, such as energy usage and carbon emissions. Earlier this year, 38 cities made their sustainability data public and the figure is expected to grow in 2012 as cities become increasingly aware of the need to meet competitive global standards. This action should encourage a greater desire to reduce waste and improve city efficiency, leading to considerable quality of life benefits.

Green city economies:
A new global study released on the 24 January by MIT Sloan Management Review and the Boston Consulting Group found that 31% of companies agreed that sustainability is contributing to their profits, while 70% placed sustainability permanently on their management agenda. Public/private partnership incentives such as the much discussed implementation of low cost solar energy implementation schemes on buildings in US cities will be key to building on this progress. With the cost of fuel on the rise, the scheme is genuinely cost effective for the end user and represents a win-win for cities and businesses alike. The City of Copenhagen has set a real benchmark going in to 2012 by committing to carbon neutrality by 2025. Major Frank Jensen recently spoke of the role of cities as growth engines and the potential for the city to stimulate the economy through clean-tech innovation. This is a bold target and represents a model other European cities should be looking to follow this year.

City challenges: how can cities live within their means?
Just as crucial as social and environmental sustainability is the exercise of financial caution, with cities across Europe facing another challenging year in 2012. Eurozone debt woes continue to blight the continents economic picture. Consequentially, city budgets are likely to be restrictive, placing more pressure on city authorities to be ‘smart’. The issue facing authorities looking to implement new and innovative programmes that support social and environmental change is the hefty price tag that accompanies such action. Madrid stands as a pertinent example of the perils associated with pursuing a highly leveraged and aggressive development strategy. This has had disastrous consequences for the Spanish economy and should serve as a reminder for other European cities looking to pursue similar policies.

Conclusion:
The catalyst behind many of these urban trends has been the severity of the economic situation. This has forced a global re-appraisal of social, environmental and financial attitudes towards sustainability in cities. Social media and mobile technology have helped bring these issues to the fore and authorities are starting to tap into these outlets to establish a dialogue with residents on how improvements can be made. The very public nature of this information sharing has encouraged cities and local communities to be more responsive and drive sustainability agendas. This theme of information exchange has also manifested itself globally. Given cities face similar challenges and risks, many are working together to share what is and isn’t working. The globalising of city networks is encouraging, but additional steps must be taken. Improving economic prospects within European cities requires an investment in efficiency measures, the promotion of greater collaboration and a deep belief in the social and economic value of environmental sustainability.

Cities and the Eurozone debt crisis

How European Cities are faring:
The ‘flight to quality’ of recent months has seen enormous surges in urban investment across core cities in Western Europe (Hamburg, Munich, Frankfurt, Paris, Amsterdam, Brussels, Barcelona and London) as investors, particularly those from the Middle East and Southern and Eastern Europe, pour money into stable markets. London’s property market, for example, has seen growing investment volumes in high quality real estate in prime locations, despite wider global economic uncertainty. Yolanda Barnes, director of Savills residential research, estimated that in the past 18 months net inward investment in London by international buyers has totalled around £6 billion. This highlights the trend towards safe haven investments rather than riskier opportunities in the current climate of economic uncertainty.  

Aside from core Western European markets, other cities across Europe have had varying degrees of exposure to the debt crisis. With income tax rising across Europe to pay for the recession, Swiss cities such as Geneva have had a greater resilience to the crisis due to its attractive tax breaks, lax regulatory climate and its links to global markets. Other smaller European cities outside core markets have had to work harder to secure investment, but like Geneva some have performed well due to their specialist knowledge economies that offer investors a unique selling point. Cities in this category include Cambridge, which has increased its appeal through its emerging IT specialism within the UK and the quality of its talent pool.

Cities like Milan and Madrid have been brought down by their national economies and heavy borrowing. Spanish cities like Madrid borrowed from the banks rather than government and were highly leveraged when the crisis hit. The extent of public debt combined with the suction effect across Europe created by Greece has raised the cost of borrowing for cities within struggling economies such as Spain, Portugal, Ireland and Italy meaning growth forecasts are likely to be downgraded. An exception to this rule is the city of Barcelona, which has found its exposure to the crisis limited due to its strong export industry, tourism, rich cultural attractions and its sustainable growth model that had sufficient public reserves to combat the crisis.

Arguably the greatest resilience to the debt crisis has been seen in the resource rich economies of Russia and Turkey. A new report from LaSalle Investment Management recently argued that Moscow now topped Europe’s ranking’s as the most attractive city for real estate investment. This owes to its enormous growth potential, rising GDP and increasing employment rate. Istanbul has also thrived due its strong growth and its locational significance as a regional financial centre between Europe and the Arab world.

What can Cities do to increase their resilience to the debt crisis?
The crisis represents a good opportunity for city and regional leaders to reassess their strategies and adjust to more sustainable models of growth. Leveraging land rather than capital would be seen as a proactive approach to reducing public debt in the current climate. Struggling cities in Spain and Italy are starting to adjust prices to reflect the risks in the current market, which should see a wealth of opportunities to acquire core real estate at attractive yield levels. Cities like Madrid are already doing this in order to attract investment and boost its struggling economy.

What can Cities do to attract investment?
Differentiation and effectively promoting city specialisms will be crucial to attracting investment in the current climate. A key factor will be the ongoing internationalisation both of their companies and locations to attract global investors, entrepreneurs and international talent. Cities need to assess their economic strengths and how they can connect these with the demands of established and emerging markets. Medium-sized cities in Germany’s polycentric urban system have been able to compete on this basis. Frankfurt’s strength lies in its financial and legal services, Stuttgart is recognized for its engineering base, Hamburg for the media and logistics sectors, while Munich, another major economic hub with a balanced functional structure, exhibits strengths across a number of sectors.

European City Podcast Series with Professor Greg Clark

Greg Clark Credentials:

• Senior Fellow, ULI Europe/Middle East/Africa/India
  Chairman, British Business Improvements District
• Member, Mayor of London's Promote London Council
• Chairman of  the OECD Forum of Development Agencies and Investment Strategies
• Visiting Professor in City Leadership at Cass Business School

ULI Europe's Greg Clark has created a new educational series of podcasts aimed to increase knowledge of city dynamics and discuss how cities can move forward in the current climate. The podcast will explore a wide range of case studies across Europe to investigate where cities are headed, investment requirements, competitiveness and sustainability issues. (Podcast Outline)

In keeping with ULI's emphasis on forging collaboration between the public and the private sector, the podcast will garner insights from City Mayors, institutional investors, developers and architects. 

With London's 2012 Olympics on the horizon, the first podcast of the series examines the 'Olympic legacy' and where London is headed after 2012, both in terms of city development and global city branding opportunities. Watch this space for more news on the upcoming series.

Gensler/ULI UIN Roundtable

A Gensler and ULI Urban Investment Network Roundtable:

Open Space in London, an Asset without a Champion? 

20 May 2011

9:00-11:00am

Breakfast will be provided at this meeting

Hosted by:

Gensler

Aldgate House

33 Aldgate High Street

London EC3N 1AH

UK

Overview:

This joint seminar hosted by Gensler and the ULI Urban Investment Network, will address the critical issue of public open space in growing cities.  As cities grow and increase their density, important commercial and environmental goals can be achieved through more intensive use of land; however, the quality of open space and links to wellbeing, amenity, and long term value can be compromised.  So how do we grow successful cities while increasing levels of public, and indeed private, open space?

Traditionally, London has had strong guardians of open space, with the Royal Parks, City Corporation, Bridge House Trust, and the Great Estates playing critical roles in leading, managing, financing and maintaining open space across the capital.  In the modern moment, a new cycle of open space champions must emerge to join the traditional providers and the Olympic Park Legacy Company with other new providers to continue to make London "the best city on earth".

This breakfast seminar will address the twin challenges that will place London in a leadership role on public open space globally.  Firstly, how can the value of open space be recognised in the business models of public and private organisations that own and develop land so that there is both leadership and continuous investment in open space in London?  Who will these leaders be? Second, what standards, methods, and innovations should we embrace to make London's open space world class?  How can we win the open space quest comprehensively?

5-10 Minutes Introduction

15-20 Minutes What is the open space challenge for London?

15-20 Minutes How can London’s open space become a global asset?

Roger Madelin, Joint Chief Executive, Argent (invited)

Remaining Time Open Discussion / Key Questions:

• How will the current environment of growth with austerity threaten London's open space?
• How well is existing open space performing and are we maintaining and creating enough of it?
• What is the cost of not addressing the open space challenge in London?
• What lessons from London's past can be used in the present?
• From where should leadership come?
• What are the public and private business models that will support open space?
• Is there a role for BIDs or other similar vehicles?
• Who should be the champions of open space?

* Please note: Event is by Invitation Only

(please contact Sarah Nemecek at snemecek@uli.org for more information) 

ULI Europe / PropertyEU Masterclass

The Urban Land Institute Europe & PropertyEU Masterclass:

“Green Cities: how will cities lead to the greening of the global economy?”

PROVADA, Amsterdam

Wednesday, 8 June 2011

13.30 – 15.00

Room E102, Amsterdam RAI

According to the United Nations Environment Programme’s (UNEP) recently launched report entitled “Towards a Green Economy: Pathways to Sustainable Development and Poverty Eradication,” investing two percent of global GDP into ten key sectors can kick-start a transition towards a low carbon, resource efficient Green Economy.  As more than half of the world’s population now lives in urban areas, and cities account for 75% of the world’s energy use, a transition to a Green Economy is a key issue for cities today.

During this interactive and open event, public and private sector leaders will explore best practices and opportunities for cities to increase energy efficiency, reduce waste and buildings’ emissions, and promote access to low-carbon transport and technology. 

Key discussion questions include:

• How will urban development have to change to facilitate the transition towards a green economy?
• What are cities doing now to facilitate this change?
• What future opportunities exist for cities to lead the greening of the global economy?
• How do you monetize the value of greening a city?
• What is the cost of not doing it?
• What is the role of city leadership?
• What structures and instruments best allow for the creation and maintenance of green cities?

This event is hosted by the ULI Urban Investment Network, the ULI LessEn Initiative, and PropertyEU's City Leaders Programme. 

Agenda:

13.30 – 13.35  Introduction from the Moderator

• Mrs. Alexandra Notay, Vice President, Strategic Programmes, ULI

13.35 - 13.50   How Will Cities Will Cities Lead to the Greening of the Global Economy?  

Presentation of the findings of the UNEP “Towards a Green Economy” report

• Mr. Philipp Rode, Executive Director and Senior Research Fellow, LSE Cities Cities
• Mr. Max Nathan, Research Fellow, LSE Cities, London School of Economics

13.50 - 14.00   Green City Case Study: Stockholm     

City Case Study: Stockholm     

• Deputy Mayor Ulla Hamilton, City of Stockholm (invited)

14.00 - 14.15   Comments from City Leaders

• Mr. Jürgen Bruns-Berentelg, CEO, HafenCity Hamburg (invited)
• Mr. Bob van der Zande, Director of Housing and New Markets, City of Amsterdam (invited)
• Lord Mayor Frank Jensen, City of Copenhagen (invited)

14.15- 14.30    Private Sector Case Study: The Clinton Climate Initiative’s C40 Cities

• Mr. Terri Wills, London City Director, Clinton Climate Initiative (invited)

14.30 - 14.45   Comments from Private Sector & Institutional Leaders

• Ms. Debra Mountford, Senior Policy Analyst and Manager, OECD LEED Programme (invited)
• Mrs. Sara Turnbull, Senior Consultant, Arup Group Limited (invited) 
• Mr. Simon Jenner, Director, Hines (invited)
• Mr. Gert-Joost Peek, Knowledge Manager, Fakton

14.45 - 15.00   Audience Question & Answer

15.00               Masterclass Close

Upcoming Events

Click on the images below to download the full 2011 ULI Urban Investment Network Programme.

Save the Date - UIN Summit 2011

ULI Urban Investment Network Summit 2011

“Europe’s Cities at the Beginning of a New Cycle: Integrating Old with New”

23-24 November 2011

Sofitel Legend the Grand Amsterdam

Oudezijds Voorburgwal 197, 1012 EX Amsterdam, The Netherlands

About the Summit

Hosted by the City of Amsterdam, this is the second annual Summit of the Urban Investment Network.  The agenda is designed by leading experts to bring a timely programme with an aim to encourage debate and discussion between practitioners and to consolidate a common agenda around urban investment across Europe.

Who should attend?

• European city leaders and public officials
• Investors
• Developers 
• Institutions who work in urban and metropolitan areas

Key themes

• Changing demographics and Europe's cities
• Bringing the new cycle to life:  the role of city leaders 
• New development cycles in mature cities
• Who are the new investors and what do they need?
• City infrastructure:  the new assets
• Asset management strategies for cities
• Integrating vacant buildings into city-life
• City branding and its effect on urban investment
• Energy efficiency in Europe's buildings

The first Urban Investment Network Summit was held in Barcelona in October 2009.  To read a copy of a the Summit report, please visit our Reports page.

Registration for the 2011 UIN Summit will open in April.  Save the date now!

Register Now UIN Roundtable, Berlin

ULI Urban Investment Network Roundtable

Urban Investment Priorities for Europe:  The Situation in Berlin

28 March 2011

12.00 – 13.30

Kindly hosted by

Vivico Real Estate

Schoneberger Strasse 15

10963 Berlin

Agenda:

12.00   Welcome & Introduction

• Mr. Brian Kilkelly, Senior Vice President Global Partnerships, ULI Europe

12.10   Investment Priorities in Berlin

• Mr. Michael Künzel, Head of Unit for Urban Development, Senate Department for Urban Planning Berlin

What is the current investment climate in Berlin following the global financial recession?

What approaches is the city taking to attract new urban investment? 

What are the city’s investment priorities going forward?              

12.40   Investment Priorities in Europe

• Greg Clark, Senior Fellow, ULI Europe EMEA/India

How does the experience in Berlin relate to other cities across Europe?

13.00   ULI Member Experience:  Vivico’s Euro City Project

• Mr. Henrick Thomsen, Head of Vivico Berlin

What are the challenges and opportunities for Berlin going forward?  What best practices can the city learn from?

13.20   Question & Answer

13.30   Roundtable Close

Please note that this is an invitation-only event with limited space.  If you wish to attend, please email uin@uli.org to request a place.

Special thanks to Vivico Real Estate and Rosenthal Relations for their assistance in hosting this event.