Currently, retail is not for the faint-hearted. It is not clear where the industry is headed, and therefore, there are large fortunes to be won and lost in this space. To be on the winning side, we must learn from the scenarios this new environment has presented us. These are situations that under traditional circumstances would have been impossible to test. From these unique experiments, we have proven that working from home is effective but not as appealing as most of us would have once thought it would be. By no longer attending the office, we have rediscovered the importance of having a close-knit community and having green open places where interactions with neighbors, shoppers, and others in the community are abundant. It has been seen that if a resident has at least one friend living in their same apartment complex, the probability of him renewing his lease agreement at that location increases by fifty percent. Post-pandemic, our projects must reflect these learnings.

As is usually the case, the consumer will continue to be the catalyst of change, and therefore we must keep a close eye on them to learn how to design spaces that serve them. The concept “Live.Work.Play.” that once dominated urban mix-use development projects has now become “Live.Live.Live.”, which means that by designing a more intense interaction between uses, by blending them, instead of having each of them segregated within the same project, we can find synergies and get more out of life.

For example, we have seen a rising feeling of loneliness all around the world. Furthermore, as the population becomes more urban, we have also seen that green spaces become more valued. Therefore, creating the need to travel through green spaces to create interactions with other residents, shoppers, or guests is encouraged to help create better daily experiences. These interactions are essential for the success of future development projects. Previously cinemas or department stores served as the anchors to help drive business for smaller retailers; however, this is no longer the case. Now, a development project’s anchor and the essential feature for placemaking are green public areas.

The future of mixed-use development projects is to create an even more intense coexistence between different uses to create synergies. All of this, while keeping a strong focus on sustainability and healthy living.