Benchmarking Cities and Real Estate
Despite the pandemic, expectations are that offices will return to be the beating heart of our cities. Yet, evolving worker preferences and needs will likely mean that the role of offices and the way office spaces are used are set to change. Using data from JLL’s Global Benchmarking Services, we examine and contrast how offices and office space densities will change in gateway cities across the globe.
The strongest pressures to de-densify will likely occur in cities that had tight occupational densities before the pandemic
Cities with tight occupational densities will likely see the most transformational changes in the use of office space. These cities fall into three groups:
Global business hubs, like Hong Kong, London, and Singapore, with densities of 10 square meters per person or less
Business process outsourcing destinations, like Manila and Bengaluru, where business imperatives and intense usage of space have reduced densities to as low as 7 square meters per person
Emerging mega-hubs, such as Jakarta, Mumbai, Istanbul, Mexico City and Sao Paulo, which provide business services for large and growing national markets.
‘Metrics that matter’ have never been more critical
To determine their future office space requirements in a situation where various factors will impact the use of space, businesses must track space utilization and occupational density metrics to help determine how their space is being used and what their future space requirements will be. Beyond that, access to market comparisons can enable businesses to track their performance even more effectively, by enabling them to benchmark the performance of their space versus their peers.
City governments will also need to use these metrics increasingly to understand building use and resource efficiency, in turn informing urban and environmental policy.
Understanding how space utilization and occupational density metrics impact sustainability goals will be key
In the post-pandemic recovery, the next few years will be pivotal as corporates and cities set and work towards ambitious sustainability targets. Organizations will need to understand how space utilization and occupational densities impact energy, waste and water consumption. Future sustainability scenarios will need to take the trade-off between density and efficiency into consideration.
Download this report to learn more around how offices and office spaces are set to change in cities across the world and the data that you need to plan for the requirements of the future of work.