The real estate sector is constantly shaped by new trends as demand patterns change across segments and locations. The pandemic triggered several social and lifestyle changes like reverse migration, flexible work options, and online education.
This has led to people putting a lot of emphasis on quality of life and are seeking work-life balance, healthcare and future security.
One aspect that has become very important with this backdrop, is availability of open spaces. Today, there’s an increasing demand for homes that have space both inside and outside.
Open spaces, I believe, are essential not just from the aesthetics point of view but also from an investment standpoint. When a developer creates imaginative open spaces in a gated community to improve the amenities and the overall lifestyle, it also helps in getting price appreciation and better ROI for investors.
This is apart from the direct benefit which the residents get such as fresh air, green open spaces and innovative amenities lead to a better quality of life and health.
This is critical in today’s urban scenario. In recent years, most branded developers have found ways to incorporate open spaces into their projects.
These include playgrounds, jogging and walking paths, outdoor courts, landscaped gardens, sitting areas, water bodies, and other similar amenities.
While many of these developments are in the main city, the ones on the outskirts are based on the integrated township principle. Intelligent planning has resulted in an all-encompassing space that incorporates grey, green, and blue infrastructure.
These not only benefit residents’ well-being, but are also important steps toward sustainability, aiming to reduce the negative impact on the environment.
Furthermore, green spaces with fewer pavements have a cooling effect, lowering city temperatures during the summer. This not only keeps the residents fresh, but also saves energy required for cooling buildings.
As active open spaces have been shown to provide a high return on investment (ROI) as they provide far more benefits than they cost to build, the real estate industry can play an important role in the creation of community-beneficial open spaces.
Well-designed maintained public parks and tree-lined streets are an investment for the future, safety, and health of our communities.
Given the environmental challenges we face as a result of climate change and global warming, I believe there is an urgent need for more housing projects with adequate open spaces.
The quality of open spaces improves an area's overall attractiveness, which helps attract visitors and also, increases worker productivity.
This has been seen in office complexes that provide for open spaces such as gardens, outdoor and indoor green break-out areas, amenity spaces etc.
High-quality open spaces not only make a good first impression, but also convey a sense of destination and confidence that can be appealing to both investors and future residents.
Protecting open space is an essential component of successful community development projects.
To make sound investment decisions, we must consider both the costs and the benefits of development and open space protection.
The costs of protecting a community's natural systems and open spaces might seem high in the short run, but the costs of not doing so will be much higher in the long run.
(Rajat Rastogi is Executive Director and Spokesperson, Runwal Group)
