Cushman & Wakefield publishes detailed report and provides blueprint for redesigning cities Page 1

Cushman & Wakefield (NYSE: CWK), a leading global real estate services company, today released Rethinking cities: Preventing urban decline Ribbon—an in-depth research report that examines 15 U.S. cities to identify the real estate portfolios that cities currently have compared to what they Necessity, considering how much the economy has changed after the pandemicThis yields some important insights.

1. Cities, especially economically important, walkable urban areas close to the city center, violated the portfolio theory in the real estate marketsThis is especially true for inner cities, where 70% of the real estate space is currently offices.
2. There is an optimal product mix in which the real estate markets can developThis optimal mix for most cities averages 42% work (office, condominiums, GSA), 32% residential (sales and multi-family rentals), and 26% leisure (retail, hotels, and other sports/entertainment).
3. The redesign of these pedestrian-friendly urban spaces will pay off for everyone involved in the cityThese small, walkable urban areas make up only 3% of the city’s land area and 25% of its real estate area, but generate 37% of the city’s tax revenue and 57% of its GDP. When these places fail, the whole city suffers.

Developed in collaboration with Places Platform, LLC, a real estate solutions technology company co-founded by co-author Christopher B. Leinberger, who is also the Charles Bendit Distinguished Scholar & Emeritus Professor and Chair of the Center for Real Estate & Urban Analysis at the George Washington University School of Business. Reinventing cities looks at the recent past and likely future of 15 major U.S. cities, addressing critical questions about their economic health, how “vicious cycles” can develop, and how they can be reversed into “virtuous cycles.”

The report describes four key strategies needed to revitalise cities and town centres to ensure they remain vibrant and attractive. These include:

1. The proportion of real estate dedicated to work is declining, especially in inner cities;
2. Increasing the proportion of residential space, particularly in inner cities;
3. Increasing the proportion of apartments for sale within Live; and
4. Improving the Play component to increase visitor traffic

“Our study is really a call to action,” said Kevin Thorpe, Global Chief Economist at Cushman & Wakefield. “Some of our major cities and downtowns are at risk of falling into an urban vicious spiral that is difficult to break. The bottom line is that some of the real estate that most cities have today made sense for the economy 20 years ago, before hybrid work, but no longer makes sense today. Our downtowns and city centers are changing with the knowledge economy, but also with the experience economy. Cities are increasingly about experience and consumption, not just knowledge production. Thanks to this study, we now have the data, we know where the problems are, and we know the solutions. Vicious spirals are not inevitable, but now is the time to take action.”