SPONSORED: PATRIZIA – Smartening up cities

What we need are not new smart cities but “smartened up” cities to deal with the challenges of decarbonization, demography, digitalization and urbanization, argues Mahdi Mokrane, head of Global Investment Strategy, Research and Investment Solutions, at PATRIZIA. In a report published in the October issue of Institutional Real Estate Americas, Mahdi explains French-Colombian scientist Carlos Moreno’s concept of a “15-minute city,” where everything a resident might need or want to seek out —including education, entertainment, healthcare and necessities — could be reached in a 15-minute walk or bike ride. PATRIZIA’s Marcelo Cajias, a member of the Investment Strategy and Research team, developed an extension of his PATRIZIA Amenities Magnet (a scoring tool for urban amenities) to help identify “15-minute” cities, as part of the scoring for a livable city. Mahdi then discusses what these concepts mean for investors in the industrial and residential