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Independent, expert-reviewed analysis on the future of the built world — newest first.
Required parking ratios are a hidden tax on housing — land and capital spent on cars instead of people. Eliminating them is among the highest-leverage reforms available, and it costs the public nothing. Less Concrete, More Homes When cities drop parking minimums, infill projects…
The 'office is dead' narrative obscures the real story: the asset class is splitting in two. The best buildings are leasing at record rents while the rest face an existential reckoning. Flight to Quality Is Permanent Tenants downsizing their footprint are simultaneously…
Landlords competing for shrinking tenant demand have poured capital into amenities — lounges, gyms, conferencing, food. The race is real, but the returns on it are not infinite. Diminishing Returns The first wave of amenities drove leasing. The latest wave increasingly just…
Hybrid work did not just cut how much space tenants lease; it changed what they want inside it. The floor plate designed for assigned desks five days a week is now a poor fit for how people actually work. From Desks to Settings Demand has shifted toward collaboration space,…
Office-to-residential conversion is the policy world's favorite solution to two problems at once. The reality is that the overwhelming majority of office buildings are terrible candidates. Floor Plates and Risers Decide Deep floor plates leave windowless interiors; central…
With demand concentrating at the top, the hardest job in commercial real estate is leasing the vast middle — buildings that are neither trophy nor distressed. Reposition or Re-Price The playbook is to invest enough to credibly move a building up the quality ladder, or to accept…