Nordicum - Real Estate Annual Finland 2014 | Page 51

THE ANGLE
By Tero Estovirta
The writer is Managing Director of NCC Property Development Oy

What is City Development?
Facing today’s challenges and
tomorrow’s visions of City
Development

Understanding City Development requires an
appreciation of the broader context. It all starts
with the global location, continues to the city,
the specific area and down to the plot or real
estate and all in this order. It is like the question:
“What is the purpose of existence?”

T

oday’s world’s versatile know-how is
the only way to manage sustainability
and liveability. All information needs
to be shared. Success is measured by people’s ability to co-operate and combine versatile know-how information. It is not about
finding totally new innovations, but, rather,
about combining existing ones in a more
creative way.
Timing and narrow-minded thinking
are the basic challenges. Trust and confidence are the key success factors. Instead of
looking at only people’s technical competences, we should also start looking for innovations and co-operation skills. The likelihood to get through issues that you deem
important, rises when your ability to co-operate is high.
The problem with timing is not overestimated. As we have seen, market situations vary faster and faster. For example, the
zoning process, which usually takes years to
complete, can mean that opportunities will
pass in a rapidly changing economic environment. Some say that the best opportunities need time. This is true, but when is

the right time? New opportunities will arise
every day. We should be able to perform
throughout the summer and the winter, what
are we waiting for? All decisions are made
with the best possible information available at the time; no one deliberately wants
to make bad decisions.
Long-term planning is where all City
Development starts. We should put efforts
into defining frames and then stick to them.
This is how resources can be effectively allocated. Another problem is that we jump into
the fine details immediately. That also takes
away the possibilities to develop things during the time given.
For example, zoning plans that are
too detailed may already be old by the time
they become valid. In Finland, the legislation gives us more opportunities than we
even realize, it’s all