Welcome back. This month I planned to talk about property and how it needs to change.
The original idea for Haxted Thinking was to share ideas and insights from the frontline of the world of property development. But after a relentless couple of years where Covid tested us all to our limits, and new, wildly unpredictable challenges appeared almost daily, it has become increasingly difficult to know which insights might be the most helpful.
Through all of the volatility of these last two and a half years, the one thing I keep coming back to is how good space is more important than ever. The quality of space in which we live and work has a fundamental bearing on our wellbeing. And yet how property gets done is a throwback to a different time. Much of it a legacy of the 1980’s when consumption and excess were badges of honour. And that approach is no longer fit for purpose.
So it’s time to rethink property. Top to bottom. From how it’s conceived, designed, built and used, to how it’s maintained, reimagined and adapted as it ages. How it’s funded, how it’s owned and how it’s bought and sold. We need our buildings to work better for us, and we need them to work better for the planet. Integrating our built environment with a planet suffering from biodiversity, climate and energy crises, is now a primary concern. And that means a change of newsletter focus.
From Haxted Thinking to Rethinking Property – a newsletter to challenge conventional wisdom and explore ways to do property better.
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