Deloitte's report cites the collaboration between Tishman Speyer, Autodesk and Steelblue to create one of the largest-ever scale models of San Francisco, using 3D printing. (Photo: Autodesk)

CHICAGO—The future of commercial real estate is bound up with its adoption of technology on a macro scale, i.e. fitting in with the “smart city” concept now on the radar of urban policy makers, Deloitte says in a new report. Urban planners are responding to the “significant demographic shifts” underway, as well as the issues of “security, climate change and resource scarcity concerns” that are pressuring government budgets and the physical infrastructure.

“Naturally, the built environment plays a pivotal role and is an integral part of urban planning,” according to Deloitte's report, titled “Innovations in Commercial Real Estate: Preparing for the City of the Future.” Given the forwarding-looking focus, the report says, “the question you need to ask yourself is: as developers and owners of the built environment, are your buildings future ready? Are you deploying technology innovatively and effectively to prepare and respond to the rapidly changing ecosystem?”

Deloitte's report notes that many commercial property owners might view “cities of the future” as a concept too far ahead on the horizon to make an impact on existing building stock. However, the report quotes Rupert Murdoch as one illustration of its theme that the time to prepare for the future is now: “The world is changing very fast. Big will not beat small anymore. It will be the fast beating the slow.”