Master planning could be a very powerful tool in adding value to any real estate development in unlocking its true potential provided the process of Master planning is followed thoroughly.
Purpose of Master Planning
In a rapidly urbanizing contemporary world, urban environments are facing multiple challenges such as climate change, population growth, identity crisis and unplanned developments. It is critical to re-imagine land development sensitive to climate while invoking a sense of identity, that is economically and socially uplifting.
Masterplan is the first step towards setting up a long-term Vision for realising the true social, economic and environmental potential of any development. Once the Vision is in place once could narrow down the feasibility, the phasing, the style and aesthetic of the project etc. Backed by a very detailed framework for the project delivery, taking into account the technical aspects such as planning regulations, budget, sustainable design strategies, infrastructure and engineering solutions, as well as the aesthetic aspects of design such as massing of buildings, vistas, and hierarchy of buildings.
Master planning projects pan across a wide range of sectors such as urban regeneration, industrial, logistics, residential, recreational, entertainment, hospitality, commercial, educational and mixed-use townships. While there are several guidelines on the process of carrying out a masterplanning exercise, it is very important to note that each site is unique and would require a specific approach in order to ensure the success of the project.
Benefits of master planning
Masterplan has innumerable benefits to both the investors and the users. It provides a road map for all future development decisions on a project. The success rate of master planned projects is much higher than unplanned ones. In the long run, a good masterplan helps in cutting down project cost by effective planning of utilities, street network, materials and climate responsive design. It develops taking inputs from the involved stakeholders and investors, thus avoiding conflict of interests in future.
Master planning helps in estimating the timeline and cost of project, which helps in effectively phasing the project, that further helps in generating income even before completion of project. The process ultimately increases the credibility and visibility for a development project, which not only showcases the potential with conceptual views that creates impressions, but also with clearly estimated figures.
Master planning process and key elements of a master plan
It starts with conducting a feasibility study that indicates whether the selected site is suitable for the required function, considering the financial, social, and environmental aspects of the project. Feasibility studies help in deriving a product mix, phasing strategies and formulation of the project brief. Phase wise planning enables and broadens the search for stakeholders and would accomplish the most out of each stage.
Masterplan should act as a framework for growth and should not have any rigid spatial intentions. A lot of thought must be given on strategy to deal with delivery issues and adopt a practical and realistic approach to aid progression from design to delivery. Some of the key elements that govern the masterplans and creates a great impact on the future development are open space and recreation, transport infrastructure, services, amenities, working, living and cultural mixed-use spaces. A good masterplan should be flexible and accommodate the needs of the community and developers alike. CBRE follows a rigorous process right from site appraisal stage to the final masterplan. The process involves review of local regulations, planning policies, land use plans and Benchmarking of similar projects.
Need for master planning in India
In developing countries like India, the development projects could be planned in a much more integrated and efficient manner responding to project specific challenges. This should help in eliminating the poorly planned projects resulting in decreased quality of built and natural environment. Many clients often tend to merge the process of master planning with building design due to their lack of understanding or due to the perception that building design takes care of masterplanning and separately hiring a Masterplanner is a luxury and not a necessity. While it is important to make sure the project meets its maximum commercial potential to start with, it is equally important to look at long-term sustainability of the project by focusing on a good quality masterplan backed by robust urban design, sustainability and placemaking principles. This will increase the quality of environment as well as it will attract further investments increasing the real estate value of the project as well as its surrounding assets in multiple folds.
At CBRE, our Master planners with global exposure of working on projects panning across 50+ countries, put a lot of focus on creating a robust Vision at the start of each project. The Vision then translates into Concept Masterplan Options where we address all the core objectives set out as part of the Vision. Based on our interactions with the Client and other key stakeholders we narrow down on a preferred Masterplan which further gets developed into detailed design in phases set out as part of the masterplan.