Vacancies in central urban areas: Interview with Timo Brehme in the austrian news magazine "profil"

Online retail has been threatening bricks-and-mortar retail for a long time, a trend now accelerated by the COVID-19 crisis. We need creative concepts to avoid that our cities will not become deserted. According to Timo Brehme, managing partner at CSMM, believes the time has come to completely rethink how we see our city centres. As an architecture and consulting firm with a long track record, CSMM sees artisanal trades, small-scale manufacturing, housing and education as essential building blocks for the multifunctional cities of tomorrow. Diversity doesn’t just make neighbourhoods more resilient, establishing institutions such as universities and hospitals as anchors can play an important role in city centre revitalisation – and keep investors interested in the future. There is also an opportunity for large-scale event centres, the second-biggest loser of the pandemic, to find new space in cultural and educational institutions. 

Link to article