Mixed-use neighborhoods: new trend and digital management
Mixed-use real estate projects are on the rise today. These sets are characterized by a concentration of housing, offices, shops and services within a single space. The advantages of this mix of uses are numerous: economic synergies, accessibility, better use of land, support for sustainable mobility, etc.
At the heart of this virtuous model – but full of challenges: the city dweller, whose experience as an occupant becomes a real spearhead for real estate players. Focus on this new trend and on the conditions for a successful mix.
1. The boom in mixed-use neighborhoods
Mixed-use development is on the rise, although it is not new. In recent years, the trend has been towards urban areas and mixed-use projects have become popular again. Indeed, if cities were designed on this model before the Second World War, the expansion of means of transport and globalization had encouraged segregation by activity (dwellings on one side, offices on the other, etc.).
This "return to basics" is explained in particular by the sensitivity to "sustainability" of new generations, in search of reasoned and practical consumption. Indeed, very concerned about the environment and its challenges, young working people aspire to new uses of spaces: getting around on foot or by public transport, promoting local shops, living in low carbon footprint housing, etc. Mixed use seems to be the most effective way to optimize surfaces while minimizing distances.
This is the case of the “17&Co ” mixed program of BNP Paribas Real Estate, in the Paris region, or of “Nice Thiers” run by the Compagnie de Phalsbourg. Leisure spaces, offices, co-living & hotels, services, but also business accelerators and shops: everything is brought together within the same district for living, working and having fun.
2. The challenges of horizontal diversity
The urban mix promises easy access to all residential and socioeconomic activities (offices, businesses, institutions, public services, parks, etc.). This strategy also relies on the diversification of housing for a better mix and a fight against social exclusion.
Mixed-use neighborhoods thus organize the space around a housing/employment/accessibility balance. They are based on several criteria, in particular functional, social and economic:
- Giving meaning to real estate heritage,
- encourage diversity,
- Establish a culture of places (habits, rules of living well together, spirit of benevolence within the district, honoring good environmental practices, etc.)
- Facilitate interactions,
- Encourage economic deployment and revitalize the local fabric,
- Finding a balance for the ecosystem
This mix of objectives has in fact led the developers of real estate projects to create a strategy combining all the questions relating to housing and urban planning, emphasizing social and political recognition.
3. Which solution should you choose to manage your mixed-use neighborhood?
In order to facilitate the daily lives of the inhabitants and owners of the various places, digital is a key solution. Facilitated exchanges with other city dwellers and managers, centralized access to all services, shops and spaces, purchases and payments in one click, incident reporting, reservations of common goods... Witco, specialist in the occupant experience, thus offers an application with a dual occupant/manager interface for simplified and unified space management. This tool includes:
- Animation of a network of occupants (chat, forum, information on the news feed, etc.)
- The creation and management of events (calendar, participants, etc.)
- Access to environmentally friendly offers (reservation from the phone for cycle terminals, refills and places dedicated to electric cars, etc.)
- Management and follow-up of incidents in the neighborhood
- Sharing useful information : directory of contacts (occupants, companies and co-living spaces)
- All usage and occupant satisfaction data
The mix of uses improves social inclusion, innovation and urban and collective intelligence. In order to best meet the challenges of mixed-use neighborhoods, dedicated applications such as Witco exist: their use helps to facilitate exchanges between users and occupants and to simplify the management of the neighborhood on a daily basis.
