New boundaries

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to fill a gap in the real estate academic literature by defining the essence of real estate in smart urban environments. Space has traditionally been a silent component of real estate. Smart technologies powered by Ubi-comp are turning space into an active part of real estate, which represents a paradigm shift for commercial real estate. This shift requires new concepts and tools to analyse and model real estate in smart cities. Design/methodology/approach The paper defines the notions of smart space and smart real estate. Several concepts and tools are formulated, starting with a model of space users in smart cities, called the Cyber-Dasein inspired by Heidegger’s existential phenomenology of space. Findings The paper then analyses smart space’s attributes and proposes several metrics for commercial real estate in smart environments. After introducing three regression models for constructing a price index of smart real estate, the paper concludes by advocating that commercial real estate take an active role in the current debate about smart cities. Research limitations/implications The paper does not provide any empirical analysis of smart real estate. Practical implications Smart environments offer real estate a unique opportunity to set up methodologies, concepts and tools for new properties in new cities. Now is the time to think carefully about the impact smart technologies will have on commercial properties before other stakeholders (in particular smart cities vendors and multinational technology giants) have fully modelled smart space and its nexus with smart real estate. Originality/value This paper is the first paper to provide a conceptual framework for the analysis of commercial real estate in smart cities.