Mipim arrives at its 30th edition and to celebrate it doesn’t look at the past but toward the future. In a present where real estate is more and more the driving force for global economic development and for the transformation of the urban context, the theme chosen this year for the rich programme of meetings and conferences, Engaging the Future, becomes a declaration of intent and an opportunity to stimulate the debate on essential issues for the future of the planet such as sustainable economic growth, civil cohesion, durability, long-term benefits and quality of life, environmental protection and optimal use of resources.
© Yann Coatsaliou
Part of this vision of the future was the inaugural conference held at the Palais des Festivals in Cannes by Ban Ki-moon, Secretary General of the United Nations from 2007 to 2016, and promoter of the Climate Change Summit, who highlighted the theme in the international political agenda and brought about the signing in 2016 of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.
Good practices and sustainability in architectural and urban planning are confirmed as dominant themes also in the over 100 projects presented in all the real estate sectors – offices, residences, hospitality, retail, industry and logistics and located in 30 different countries, while the theme of health care and treatment in the urban context was explored by investors, developers, architects and municipalities for the first time in the dedicated forum Health & the City.
Also new in this edition is the Young Leaders’ Summit, in addition to the special invitational events ReAllocate and ReInvest, in addition to the usual Regulation & Legal Forums, Mayors & Political Leaders Think Tank and Proptech Labs.
The Proptech Labs, organised in collaboration with MetaProp NYC in 2018 in Paris, New York and Hong Kong triggered the fourth MIPIM Startup Competition. In Cannes the final round nominated the most innovative startups in proposing digital and technological solutions to face the great challenges of the urban ecosystem and real estate at a world-wide level.
Finally, over 200 entries for the Mipim Awards have arrived from all over the world. The jury, chaired by Méka Brunel, CEO of Gecina, selected 45 finalists from 21 countries in the 11 categories: healthcare development, hotel & tourism resort, industrial & logistics development, mixed-use development, office & business development, refurbished building, residential development, shopping centre, urban regeneration project, future project (total surface area <150,000 sqm), future mega project (total surface area ≥ 150,000 sqm).
