The world has changed! The news of the hour commands our attention as we react to the COVID-19 crisis. Some changes will certainly outlast the current pandemic. Stay-at-home orders and the current crisis’s economic impact have changed the way we view real estate.

Technology has made location less important. Obtaining and analyzing reliable data almost in real time seem to be the key in reacting appropriately to the crisis itself. The concept of Smart Cities, cities that use data to improve delivery of city services, has been around for years. This article argues that data’s importance supports swift implementation of 5G networks and that Smart City technologies can help address the current crisis in both the immediate and longer terms.

The article then explores some of the possible long term impacts of the current crisis on real estate and the importance of data to real estate uses and values.

Click here to continue reading “The World Has Changed: The Smart City in the Post-COVID-19 World” in Real Estate Issues

Also, click here to read, “Morris Ellison in the Charleston Post & Courier: Smart City Technologies Can Aid COVID-19 Recovery”.

Morris Ellison chairs Womble Bond Dickinson’s Smart Cities practice in North America. His practice includes commercial real estate transactions, commercial litigation, tax appeals and economic development. He represents local, national and international investors, lenders, and real estate developers in the development, financing and disposition of commercial properties and other assets as well as entity disputes.