Compact cities are better for their inhabitants, the environment and investors, according to the Urban Land Institute (ULI) and the Coalition for Urban Transitions’ new report, Supporting Smart Urban Development: Successful Investing in Density.

In the report, the two organisations have attempted to quantify the impact of quality of place on real estate investment returns and have argued cities with “good density” are more likely to provide higher risk-adjusted real estate investment returns than more-dispersed cities.

Based on a quantitative analysis of 63 global cities, the report identifies six characteristics associated with “good density”: clustering structure (land-use patterns within cities and regions); economic and employment infrastructure (availability of investment, jobs and talent); built infrastructure (physical density and mixture of uses); green and blue infrastructure; public-transport infrastructure; and good governance. The report