Placemaking reimagined

Placemaking is far from a new concept. It emerged from the need to bring identity and vibrancy to major regeneration areas like King’s Cross and Nine Elms—places where large volumes of new buildings were delivered all at once, leaving little time for communities and culture to grow organically. By combining design, marketing and estate management, placemaking adds a sense of identity and human connection to what might otherwise feel like a harsh, sterile environment.

Then, as the London property market experienced a boom thanks to its ‘safe haven’ status amongst overseas investors, developers needed to tell the story of an area to a market of potential buyers who might not be familiar with London’s many sublocations. Placemaking adapted to incorporate knitting together the history, heritage and amenities of an area to paint a coherent picture of where buyers were investing. But the term also became wrapped up with a minority of less scrupulous developers creating blocks of flats in fringe locations that were marketed as luxury apartments in prime central London and in reality were high-end enclaves at odds with their surroundings. The image of placemaking became tainted by concepts such as gentrification, deception, exclusivity and the segregation of new residents from existing communities.

Partly because of this, and partly because of changed dynamics that have led more residential developers to focus on the domestic market, the term ‘placemaking’ started to slip out of use. So last month, when I was invited to collaborate on a roundtable in Birmingham organised by Centrick on placemaking in the build-to-rent sector, it was a welcome opportunity to reflect on the concept of placemaking and how it has been reinvented for a new generation. 

The burgeoning build-to-rent sector is becoming increasingly competitive.  Research from Knight Frank puts the UK’s operational build-to-rent stock at over 126,000 homes – up by 27% year on year – with a further 57,400 under construction and an additional 106,500 consented. There remains strong demand for rental homes, but with such rapid growth in this subsector, differentiating one scheme from another is becoming vital. And, far more so than traditional build-to-sell properties, build to rent is all about service and experience. So in this sector, placemaking is back but is more holistic: it’s no longer just about telling the story of an area; it’s about creating a lifestyle package that potential residents want to access. 

As well as on-site amenities, this might incorporate the shops, restaurants, bars and open spaces located on the doorstep, but rather than just signposting these to residents, BTR schemes are increasingly working together with local businesses to offer residents discounts and special offers. This benefits everyone: residents get reduced prices; local businesses get an opportunity to market themselves to a new pool of potential customers; and developers create a sustainable ecosystem around their buildings by encouraging residents to use the amenities that serve as a point of attraction for further residents. We’ve also worked with BTR brands to curate programmes of events tailored to the target resident demographic and aligning with the building’s brand and values. In this way, placemaking has evolved from using what’s in the local area to sell homes, to a more proactive and interactive process of positioning a building within its local community, engaging with that community and offering residents unique experiences that complement what is available in the local area.

As the property industry changes to reflect evolving markets and customer demand, so too does the way we market and talk about new schemes. The language used in placemaking 15 years ago was often centred around exclusivity: luxury, high end, unattainable to the masses. It’s interesting that the language of placemaking now is centred much more around inclusivity: community, sustainability, shared experiences. Of course this is related to an economic environment today that means most developers are more focused on the domestic, mid-market segment. But it also perhaps reflects a more fundamental change in consumer behaviour, where younger generations in particular are less focused on material possessions and more focused on experiences and being part of a sustainable and functional community.