The Bartlett Real Estate Institute: building the 21st century

The Bartlett Real Estate Institute (BREI) provides a unique space for the public sector, industry, communities and academics to not only debate these issues but also to set the agenda for policy makers and society.

Speaking at the institute’s launch in October 2018, BREI chair Professor Yolande Barnes said the value of real estate is shifting. We need to understand how it will respond to conditions in the 21st century as technology changes how we shop, socialise and get information, as we find ourselves in a different era of money, with low inflation, low interest rates, and see new global powers arise, growing middle classes emerge and, in many countries, an increasing polarisation of wealth.

The new Institute’s response to these global challenges is unique, said Barnes, because it reaches across both academia and the real estate industry, from landowners, financiers and investors, to policy setters, housing providers, planners and architects. It brings together industry specialities, which rarely communicate, as well as academics from a range of different disciplines.

“It is inclusive. We want people to share their interest and knowledge to help set the agenda so we can explore the issues facing the real estate industry,” said Professor Barnes.

The BREI will focus on eight broad and interlinked themes that will be important in the 21st century era of change:

1. Digital disruption
2. Community Inclusion
3. Health and Well-being
4. Learning Environments
5. Housing Affordability
6. Beyond Placemaking
7. Real Estate Resilience 
8. Infrastructure Interface