Place-making in urban development processes

Actual real estate development processes can be the most immediate area for empirical evidence. In fact, place-making could be considered a natural corollary to routine processes in this field that render a property more attractive on the market: by innovating construction methods and making it more sustainable but also by guaranteeing the overall improvement of the built environment as an important factor in economic value. This means recognizing three immediate place-making functions in urban development processes: market value, product innovation, and territorial marketing. The relationship between place-making and urban development is generally conceived of according to codified models and canons, even if attention to place might suggest the project's more specific focus on the environmental and urban context. Moreover, in this field, the concept of place-making responds to a utilitarian logic that is, nonetheless, coherent with the primary functions of real estate development that concentrates on exchange values.