Cities have facilitated human evolution through propagation of ideas, as economist and professor Edward Glaeser puts it. Urban innovations ranging from the Roman aqueduct that transported water to the hyperloop that moves people have facilitated urbanisation, while idea innovations ranging from readymade garments to IT have improved human lives. Although human conglomeration originated from convenience, today it is driven by consumerism. The accrued productivity gains of millions of inhabitants make billion-dollar infrastructure projects viable through economies of scale, while the convenience of access to recreational and educational facilities attracts inhabitants.

Over the past few decades, real-estate development, or urban development in a broader context, has served to satisfy this perpetual demand of economic growth along with the subsequent benefits to human lives. Development, as defined academically, constitutes of any activity that adds value to otherwise unutilised or underutilised space, according to real-estate development expert and professor Richard Peiser. For instance, it can be argued that, from an economic standpoint, a piece of land with a multistorey building housing hundreds of analysts is more valuable than a farmland producing tonnes of wheat every year.

Click here to read more on..

Image Source: Google Images