Placemaking with purpose: Mixed-use spaces that put people first

Experience drives leasing decisions, retention and long-term perception in ways that were far less visible a decade ago. According to JLL’s Experience Matters 2025 survey, two-thirds of people globally expect the places where they live, work and spend time to offer enjoyment, diverse activities and meaningful value in return for their time. Those expectations translate directly to a greater willingness to pay more for high-quality experiences, rising from 65% in 2024 to 69% in 2025.

For owners, landlords and developers, this evolution brings a powerful opportunity to urban regeneration and sustainable development. Inclusive, community-led placemaking strengthens social equity and accessibility while reinforcing commercial performance. Done well, it creates environments that feel vibrant and welcoming—and assets that perform accordingly.

Placemaking has expanded from a programming tactic into core strategy for good reason. Mixed-use developments now compete on experience as much as on location or specification. In many urban markets, residents, office workers and visitors can choose from multiple high-quality options nearby, and their choices are increasingly guided by how a place feels, and how well it reflects their values, and whether it demonstrates a credible commitment to sustainable development.

Demographic shifts add to the momentum. Millennials and Gen Z increasingly prioritise visible environmental and social responsibility, particularly where it is reinforced through authentic community engagement, alongside environments that support wellbeing and connection. At the same time, ageing populations benefit from accessible design and strong local networks. A single development may need to serve remote workers during the day, families in the evening and older residents throughout the week.

The commercial implications are measurable. Developments that cultivate a strong sense of community and invest in experience often report higher occupancy and improved retention compared with local benchmarks.

One major London office-led mixed-use development offers a case in point. From the outset, placemaking shaped both the design of public areas and the long-term community management model. Experience surveys and cross-team training established consistent service standards across the property. In [the first year], Net Promoter Scores reached +77%, event quality was rated as 4.6/5 with over 2,200 attendees, and occupancy stabilised.

Inclusive placemaking creates places that feel woven into their neighbourhoods rather than placed on top of them, grounded in ongoing community engagement. The architecture may be contemporary, yet programming and partnerships acknowledge local character and history. Public spaces are designed for shared use, encouraging informal interaction between residents, office workers, and the wider community.

From arrival to everyday interactions, the experience reflects a clear set of values carried through by everyone on site—security teams offering a confident welcome, front-of-house staff who know regular visitors by name, cleaners who are treated as custodians of shared pride and community managers who notice patterns before they become problems.

Technology, sustainability and accessibility support that responsiveness. Tenant apps integrated with building access from the outset achieve stronger engagement, particularly when they offer exclusive local benefits or real-time updates that make participation seamless. Footfall tracking and attendance data help teams understand which initiatives resonate and when different groups use the space.

Sustainability appears in tangible forms: green spaces that double as social areas, adaptable infrastructure that supports short- and long-term uses, and partnerships with local businesses that circulate value within the neighbourhood. Accessibility is embedded into design through inclusive routes, quiet or sensory-aware spaces and environments that welcome neurodiverse users and older adults with equal intention.

Achieving alignment requires clarity and discipline from concept through daily operations—and the discipline to follow through well after launch.

1. Start early with a clear vision and values. Before drawings are finalised, articulate the values and personality of the development. Is it rooted in local heritage? Oriented toward families? Designed for creative collaboration? A clear narrative guides decisions about tenants, events, public space design and communications so the place feels intentional.

2. Engage the community meaningfully and continuously. Workshops, listening sessions, and digital surveys surface insights that rarely appear in boardrooms. Early conversations might reveal demand for intergenerational programming, quiet co-working corners or partnerships with nearby schools. When people feel part of the journey, participation becomes natural.

3. Design space and service together. Shared areas only work if they’re programmed thoughtfully and supported by systems that make participation easy. Integrating technology for access, scheduling, and communication from the start removes friction and helps people engage naturally with events, amenities and each other.

4. Invest in the people delivering the experience. Training that aligns everyone around shared service standards creates consistency. Focus on core teams and recurring interactions, letting small gestures—proactive assistance, clear signage, approachable staff—accumulate into trust.

5. Measure, benchmark and evolve. Experience surveys, attendance data, satisfaction scores and informal feedback provide a live pulse check. Benchmarking against comparable assets adds context and supports informed adjustments over time.

The path forward looks slightly different depending on where a development stands today. For existing assets, strengthening customer experience training and establishing clear feedback loops can unlock immediate gains in engagement and retention. For new developments, embedding vision, community partnership, and integrated technology from the concept stage lays the groundwork for long-term alignment and resilience.

Inclusive placemaking ultimately blends social equity, community engagement and sustainable development with operational rigour. It asks property developers and owners to consider who benefits from a space, how it adapts over time and how experience is delivered every day.

When developments are shaped with that mindset, they become places where communities gather, businesses grow and people feel at home—and assets that sustain their value because they continue to serve the people around them.