Grand challenges have been identified in a growing number of professions, institutions, governments, and industries to focus attention on significant problems and opportunities. In real estate, grand challenges have received limited attention. This paper explores grand challenges and whether real estate may benefit from identifying, framing, and pursuing solutions to grand challenges.
The research involves identifying and exploring how grand challenges have been pursued in other fields and disciplines and the related outcomes. These findings are then considered within the context of real estate. Suggestions are developed for possible frameworks to facilitate the value of grand challenges in real estate.
Grand challenges in engineering and management have produced results in education and research. Other research has defined four categories of grand challenges with real estate fitting into three of the four categories. The only scholarly real estate-related article on the topic considers how real estate aligns with each of the seventeen UN Sustainable Development Goals. It then outlines the skills necessary for real estate to effectively address grand challenges and finds these skills to be in short supply. Additional findings include how identifying and framing grand challenges contributes to their solution and how the civic wealth creation framework may expand real estate’s conception of how it contributes to value and wealth creation.
Grand challenges merit additional research into their potential value in real estate. The relationship of development, equity investment, operation, and redevelopment and grand challenges may be fruitful. Limitations include a dearth of real estate research on grand challenges and a willingness to initiate such research.
Real estate often faces resistance in the form of “NIMBY” and “BANANA” attitudes. Grand challenge research may provide an approach to developing a “do good” mindset to replace the “do no harm” mindset. Shared goals among all stakeholders generated by grand challenges may facilitate more trust within the entire real estate ecosystem.
Real estate and the built environment are crucial elements of society and its functioning. Grand challenges can focus research on the underlying mechanisms that may move real estate from seeking to minimise harm to seeking to increase civic wealth.
Grand challenges and real estate’s role in addressing them have received scant attention. This paper explores how to initiate thinking about real estate and its responsibility to society.
