Europe’s housing and workspace requirements for the next 15 years could be met by redeveloping brownfield sites and repurposing vacant office space, creating a €4 trillion opportunity for investors.

A new report from Gingko Advisor, a member of the Edmond de Rothschild Private Equity partnership, and Systemiq, estimates there is 19,000 square kilometres (7,300 square miles) of underused brownfield land in Europe as well as 300 square kilometres (116 square miles) of vacant office space. Urban Regeneration: Turning obsolescence into value for Society, Nature, Climate — and Investors says redeveloping only a fraction of this land and space could deliver up to 20 million homes and mixed-use spaces.

According to the report, investors can take part in this redevelopment by treating urban regeneration as a dedicated asset class and recognising its varied risk profiles. This would mean strengthening due diligence and risk mitigation mechanisms to address specific risk a