Holistic approach needed for city centres as retail transforms

The rapid evolution of the retail sector demands a fresh approach to urban centres.

Netherlands-headquartered property investor Redevco, which has a strong retail-based heritage, has changed its approach to adapt to the changes in the sector and is using the expertise that it has built up in the urban fabric to do so, as the company’s head of research and strategy Brigit Gerritse explained.

“We changed our mission and our vision and we are very much leading the transformation to liveable and sustainable cities,” she said. “This is a much more holistic approach.”

Gerritse explained that the company knows cities very well, but urban centres are not all retail anymore. “What can we do with these buildings to make not only the building itself more liveable and sustainable, but the surrounding also?”

It is a question of working with the community, on adjacent buildings changing areas of a city into more liveable and sustainable areas, she said.

Please click on the video above to watch the full interview or listen to the podcast below.

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