Summer Issue 2021 - 36

UL Interview (continued)
INCOMING ULI GLOBAL CHAIRMAN PETER BALLON
" WE'VE ALREADY SEEN THAT THE IMPACT OF
COVID HAS BEEN DIFFERENT IN DIFFERENT
COUNTRIES, AND REAL ESTATE HAS BEEN
IMPACTED ACCORDINGLY. THE RETURN TO
NORMALCY IS NOT EGALITARIAN EITHER. "
could learn from each other and
how they could share.
It's been a huge lesson that
we've been able to attract people
who normally wouldn't attend in
person, perhaps sometimes for
financial reasons or time constraints.
We will try to learn from
that going forward and find ways to
provide a hybrid approach that will
enable both in-person and, when
appropriate, online collaboration
and sharing of ideas. I'm sure there
are some people who will much
prefer in-person meetings, and then
there are some people who would
love the quick ease and access of
having to just open their laptop
and connect. Our colleagues in
the Americas or Europe can attend
conferences in Asia now, and vice
versa. Our universe is no longer
limited in any way to where anyone
lives. Anyone with internet access
now has access to ULI in a way they
didn't have before, which to me is
a very exciting prospect. I think it's
going to bring the barriers down in
quite a big way, and I think hybrid
events will be here to stay.
Can you share your
thoughts on where real
estate trends might be
going?
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p. 36
One of the most obvious observations
is that the pandemic has
not been egalitarian in its impact.
Certain countries, communities,
age groups, and so on have all
been impacted differently. Similarly,
real estate has not been impacted
equally, with certain sectors such as
data centers and logistics benefiting
while other sectors such as certain
types of retail and office being
negatively impacted in at least the
short term. COVID has clearly been
a disrupter and an accelerator that
will have an impact long after [the
pandemic] has passed.
The reality is that change is
accelerating in the world in many
if not all sectors and all industries.
Real estate is not excluded. As an
investor, we have to pay attention
to trends as they can take hold at
a much faster pace than they have
traditionally.
" HEALTH AND SAFETY IS UNDOUBTEDLY A TREND
THAT'S AROUND FOR THE FORESEEABLE FUTURE,
AND THE REAL ESTATE INDUSTRY MUST PAY
ATTENTION TO THESE FAST-CHANGING TRENDS. "
36
URBAN LAND SUMMER 2021
Do you see differences
among global regions as
they emerge from the
pandemic?
We've already seen that the impact
of COVID has been different in different
countries, and real estate
has been impacted accordingly. The
return to normalcy is not egalitarian
either. There are clearly some countries
that have resumed to a more
normal environment, either because
they have COVID under control or
they have a faster vaccination rate.
But through the lens of a global
investor who looks to the long term,
I think that within a reasonable time
period things will return to normal
in most countries and there will be
less differentiation.
Do you see changes in the
ways people interact with
real estate?
Yes, absolutely, I think that how
people will interact with real estate
is changing. For example, I think
that many employees and employers
view the function of office
space differently. For example, for
those firms that adopt some form
of a work-from-home policy, they
will look to the office to enhance
collaboration. Another example is
that enclosed shopping centers will
be enhanced even further to be
more of an experience in addition
to being functional. Perhaps the
greatest change is that individuals
are demanding healthier, environmentally
friendly real estate, be it
the office space they work in or the
housing that they live in. Health
and safety is undoubtedly a trend
that's around for the foreseeable
future, and the real estate industry
must pay attention to these fastchanging
trends. UL
ELIZABETH RAZZI is editor in chief of Urban Land;
PETER WALKER is publisher.
Summer Issue 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Summer Issue 2021
