The high value of creating place

Around Australia, the value of beachfront property is apparent, since the land borders an attractive amenity of limited supply. There will only ever be so many building lots within close range of the beach. A similar effect drives the high values in the historic areas, because there will only ever be so many lots that are historic or surrounded by historic buildings. The question is ‘are there ways for new developments further from an appealing drawcard to match the value of land with these premiums?’

For new urbanism communities, where we can’t attribute value to a nearby natural amenity, the answer is that we must ensure that value comes from design. 

We cannot build more beachfront, nor can we age existing buildings by hundreds of years. We can, however, borrow existing design choices from the longest lasting, most successful parts of our cities. This is why creating ‘place’ is so important. We can benefit from lessons learned in the US. 

Research by Urban3, a company that provides visualisation and insights into property data, supports this – their findings show that the property market values older, more traditional development patterns which are based around walking in comparison to a more contemporary auto-oriented (as in driving cars) development. 

The image displays a visualisation of two adjacent but distinct pockets of urban  wealth (approx 40 kms apart). (Source: Urban3)

Urban3 and creating place

One of the driving forces behind Urban3 is Joe Minicozzi.

Joe is a presenter with the knowledge to provide a deep dive into city economics, community growth, and urban design.

The Urban3 team can demonstrate  how communities can utilise local data and simple math to gain a powerful understanding of fiscal health, and plan for a healthy economic future. Over the past 10 years, Joe has lectured across the United States, Canada, New Zealand, Australia and Europe.

Recognized as one of the 100 Most Influential Urbanists of all time by Planetizen in 2017, Joe reveals to audiences the similarity of development across the US, despite varying tax systems. See Joe’s presentation in Atlanta.

Economic Potential

Cities and urban developments of all sizes can benefit from data visualisation to help them reach their full economic potential.

Achieving this requires greater collaboration between government, property developers and investors. Urban design which fosters flourishing communities through creating place needs to be given greater recognition as vital in the economic growth of Australian cities.

National FM can consult to create place

National FM specialist staff can advise developers on creating place and communities as well as space optimisation for high end developments. Our specialists can also implement programs and events that  will enhance community development for the development.