MIPIM 2020: The future is human

It’s the end of February. And we are a marketing agency working in property and professional services. It must be time for a piece on MIPIM.

For the 30th year, professionals and experts from across property and construction will descend upon the south of France to share ideas, network and secure new work. 

22,000 square metres. More than 130 conference sessions. Over 26,000 attendees. It will no doubt prove to be the place to be again. But this year, there is a swing away from talking money towards more of a focus on people.

The future is human, says MIPIM, and we couldn’t agree more. To sustain our way of living, we have to design cities around the people who will live in them. But what does this look like? And how does this gel with an environmentally conscious society? Hopefully, MIPIM 2020 will have the answers.

The future is human…

The world’s population will balloon to 9.7bn people by 2050, with 70% of those people living in urban areas. We can’t afford to approach city design as if the people were cattle; cramming as many people into as few square metres as possible. Cities are more than that.

They are our business hubs. Our educational nerve centres. The foundation of our lives in the future. They will be diverse in every possible social and economic metric. Our cities need to reflect the future way of living, taking into account environmental challenges (more on that later).

But to design living and working spaces that work for the many will require cooperation between multiple parties, potentially on a scale we have never seen. Local authorities, governments, and the private sector will have to lead the way.  And it’s at MIPIM that they come together and change happens.

A greener future

The future lies in “net zero”. How can property and construction reduce their impact on the world? From embedded carbon in construction to the energy demands of buildings in use – never mind how we move between and within places. Is it possible to completely neutralise the effects our projects have on the environment? Maybe not 100%, but there is still plenty more we can do to repair the damage. These lead to two challenges: how do we release less carbon into the atmosphere during construction and how can our buildings use less energy?

A people-first approach is inherently also an environment-first approach. Sustainability and humanity go hand in hand. 

After all, 30% of all global emissions come from the building and construction sector. So we have a responsibility to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels and brand new materials that only add to the carbon problem. That’s why this year’s MIPIM is so vitally important – it has a message that transcends us all.

MIPIM 2020

MIPIM will take place from the 10-13 March 2020 in Cannes, France. Attendees will have the pleasure of seeing special guests such as France’s ex-President Nicolas Sarkozy, Apple co-founder and all-round computer whiz Steve Wozniak, Philippe Starck and a host of other experts and luminaries. It’s also worth noting they hit their goal of 30% female speakers, which will bring new voices into the conversation. 

Luma at MIPIM 2020

It’s a bumper edition for us too, this year.  As well as supporting our clients at Calderpeel, Gorvins and BLM, we’ve got a couple of special projects to share with you.

WHOSE MIPIM? YOUR MIPIM.

We’ve been leading a conversation all year, with Shoosmiths and Reed MIDEM, about making MIPIM more representative of the industry as we know it.  We’ll be keeping the conversation going over brunch in the Manchester Pavilion on Wednesday 11 March at 10am. Let us know if you want to become part of a different kind of MIPIM network. 

CHESHIRE & WARRINGTON AT MIPIM

We are delighted to have put together the stand events programme for the Cheshire & Warrington delegation, creating a balanced narrative and securing speakers from national and regional government, property companies, big brands and thought leaders.

This is shaping up to be a landmark show for MIPIM and could be a turning point as we head into this new, exciting decade. We can only hope the impact of the conference will be far-reaching and truly change our approach to city design. They say the future is human; let’s make it so.