Page 66 - A U4SSC deliverable - Guidelines on tools and mechanisms to finance Smart Sustainable Cities projects

Commercial real estate will experience different effects, depending on the type of use. Retail
distribution will be required to adopt hybrid practices, as shopping and logistics activities continue
to merge in the future. E-commerce and concept stores/show rooms with home delivery will
continue to increase. The balance between home delivery, takeaway and in-store servicing will be
redrawn completely, to adapt the resources and practices to the increasing demand for the former
two items. These changes will likely have a negative impact on high street retail.

Hospitality, including hotels and resorts, student residencies, short-term rental apartments and
other non-proprietary uses of serviced premises, will need to adopt technologies that enable
maximizing occupancy without risks, in order to achieve a break-even occupancy rate. Restrictions
on international travel will have a negative impact. Investment will be required to finance the
different layouts and fit outs to accommodate the new distancing requirements. Restaurants will
face similar consequences, adding home delivery and takeaway to their services in order to make
the most of kitchen capacities. Drive-through stores and service kiosks will spread. Therefore, urban
planning and municipal licensing must allow new forms of optimizing capacity to serve demand.

Geriatric and nursing homes will need to add critical-care services. A particularly difficult part of
the crisis has been the inability of countries to provide care for the elderly, due to lack of capacity
and facilities.

Offices are perhaps the most affected, due to the proliferation of home-based working. There are
two possible trends concerning the perceived need for increasing office facilities. For many, the
home working experience has proven effective, and their need for office space in single-purpose
office buildings may have reduced. However, it has been a very poor experience for others. The
effects of isolation and home working on the rates of domestic violence and poor mental health
are well-documented. Moreover, some industries, such as training and hospitality providers, are
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not able to conduct businesses as effectively in a home working environment. Some, therefore, will
value the return to traditional office-based activity. However, for workers who return to the office,
distancing requirements will mean increased space.

If spatial organization within office buildings remains unchanged, the reality is that all common areas
and workstation layouts will require redesigning. Distancing will require much larger workspaces
and, consequently, increased square metres needed per worker. The same is true for parking,
including increasing capacity for users of individual means of transport, such as bikes. If they hope
to return to pre-COVID occupancy figures, co-working premises, usually designed to maximize
comfort and spatial freedom, will need to rethink their layout, including introducing air-filtering
technologies and expanded sanitation facilities.

Residential real estate will also need to adapt to changes in buyers’ criteria. Previously, buyers may
have valued a location close to work, school or public transport. Increasingly, size, the availability
of open areas such as balconies and terraces, access to green/open spaces, gardens and parks,
and designs which facilitate home office needs, such as specific rooms or even good Internet
connection, will be highly valuable.

48 U4SSC: Guidelines on tools and mechanisms to finance Smart Sustainable Cities projects