HOW TRENDS WILL INFLUENCE THE WAY WE SHAPE PLACES.

As we step into 2025, we reflect on the key insights gained from a year of building and running Cura, our regenerative placemaking practice. We’ve had valuable discussions with landowners, developers, architects, and ESG experts, and would like to share the key takeaways.

The industry is being shaped by four major trends: an ageing population, urbanisation, climate change, and a digital-first world. So, how are these trends influencing placemaking in 2025?

We discussed the challenges in translating ESG strategies into tangible outcomes, highlighting issues such as lack of training, policy inconsistencies, and financial constraints. 

For Cura’s inaugural place roundtable, we were joined by thoughtful experts across the industry - architects, developers, ESG leads and cultural specialists - to share ideas on how to instigate change within the built environment that will lead to sustainable, thriving, resilient and healthier places. 

The lively conversation focused on the evolution of placemaking towards regenerative practices, emphasising the integration of ESG goals at project level - which is at the heart of Cura’s ethos. 

We discussed the challenges in translating ESG strategies into tangible outcomes, highlighting issues such as lack of training, policy inconsistencies, and financial constraints.