Digital tools are increasingly influencing where people choose to go and how they interact with the spaces and places around them.

Take My Paddington Central, an app that helps users of the redeveloped 11-acre mixed-use London campus with contactless entry to offices, meeting room bookings, ordering food and drink from local cafes, bars and restaurants, and much more.

Or “Hello lamppost,” which uses QR codes to help people engage and connect with cities in multiple ways, such as finding local events and community groups, learning about local history or even giving feedback about planned building developments.

It comes as many CBDs focus on transforming to mixed-use EBDs or “experience business districts.”

Both UK developer Olympia Estate and the city of Brisbane in Australia, have appointed a chief digital officer to embed digitalization into their masterplans. In Saudi Arabia, the historic city of Alula is partnering with leading global tech companies to help deliver its vision for regeneration, urban transformation, and heritage conservation.

However, Daniels says the most important thing is not to lose sight of the human element.

“The reality is we’re building places for people, so first we need to understand what they want,” he says. “Only then we can incorporate digital with purpose, to shape their preferred experience.”