Resource context (World Economic Forum; Avison Young)
This resource is a World Economic Forum article by Mark Edward Rose, Chair and Chief Executive Officer of Avison Young. It argues that “social value” in the built environment can be a lever to unlock urban transformation, especially in the context of post-pandemic pressures on towns and cities.
Urban challenges shaping housing and neighbourhoods
The article describes how the aftermath of COVID-19 has intensified inequality and contributed to urban decline in many places. It lists compounding pressures affecting neighbourhoods and town centres, including growth in online shopping, more flexible working patterns, shortages of affordable housing, rising crime, and inflation. These conditions are presented as factors that weaken local economies and deepen disparities, particularly for groups most affected by pandemic restrictions.
Why market-led redevelopment often falls short
Rose notes that real estate investment typically responds quickly when the commercial case is clear, but areas with entrenched problems often do not present straightforward returns. In those locations, the article suggests that regeneration depends on reframing viability around broader community benefits (social outcomes) rather than focusing only on the financial output of completed buildings.
ESG and impact investing as drivers of “social value”
The piece links the shift to stronger attention to environmental, social and governance (ESG) agendas and to the growing prominence of impact investing. It cites several commitments: Nuveen Real Estate’s global impact investing programme targeting US$15 billion in real estate assets under management by 2026; Schroders Capital’s UK place-based impact investment strategy aimed at addressing social deprivation and inequality while also delivering financial returns, with investments targeted at affordable homes, workplaces and mixed-use town-centre repurposing; and Legal & General’s plan to invest £4 billion in urban regeneration and housing in the UK’s West Midlands by 2031. The article also references estimates that the impact investing market grew by over 60% since 2020 to reach US$1.2 trillion in assets under management by 2022.
Public-private partnerships (PPP) and what the public sector contributes
A central theme is that place-based public-private partnerships can enable large-scale projects that are difficult to deliver without public authority involvement. The article highlights that public partners may contribute land or other assets and, in some cases, borrow at advantageous rates to expand available funding. Beyond financing, the public role is framed as helping de-risk projects and catalyse additional private investment beyond the main development partner.
Three barriers to delivering transformation at scale
Despite increased willingness to collaborate, the article identifies three recurring challenges: political cycles can disrupt long timelines for regeneration and undermine consistent government support; partnerships still require a workable shared model of risk and commercial return for private participants; and measuring and capturing non-financial social benefits remains difficult, particularly for long-term outcomes such as improved health and living standards, employment opportunities, and social integration. The article argues that clearer reporting metrics and incentives aligned with social outcomes are essential.
Direction of travel and ongoing initiatives
Rose concludes that there is no single blueprint because regeneration projects vary, but that alternative partnership structures are emerging to channel capital into urban regeneration. Avison Young’s collaboration with the World Economic Forum to convene a task force is presented as an effort to help local governments position projects for effective partnerships and to deliver social value outcomes in towns and cities.