Tomorrow, what kind of city? The city of tomorrow is often seen through the prism of the urban planner, the sociologist, the politician, the professional - in short, the expert. Rarely from the point of view of those who live in it every day. Whether willingly or unwillingly. With conviction or resignation.
Tomorrow's city. But for whom? We turned our attention to young people. This generation Z that many parents have always found hard to understand. And yet, those between the ages of 18 and 30 (yes, the range is wide) are consuming the city, sometimes unknowingly, sometimes unwittingly.
What do these young people want? We asked them in an exclusive survey conducted with Ipsos Digital. More than 1,000 young people, representative of the French population, tell us where they imagine themselves living, working and shopping. Not in the distant future, but within the next five years.
Our basic idea is simple: to understand changes in demand, in order to better align the real estate offer that developers, architects, promoters, investors, brokers and other consultants will be able to propose.
We'll see a desire for home ownership, a pronounced taste for single-family homes, an aversion to large metropolises, an ideal home office, a rejection (or perhaps misunderstanding) of all coliving and coworking concepts, and confirmation that Generation Z is omnichannel in the way it consumes.
At a time when usage value is emerging, it will be all the more interesting for real estate professionals to better understand the needs of these young people, their customers of tomorrow. In the knowledge that they will have to resolve the inevitable contradictory injunctions and take into account the challenges that concern and overtake us all, starting with the climate issue.
Real estate is like an ocean liner. When you take the wrong turn, it can take some time to right the ship. Some will not avoid icebergs. Particularly if the economic situation sows icebergs everywhere.