Engineering consultancy firm Royal HaskoningDHV and Vital Future Group have unveiled an exclusive, long-term, global strategic partnership to provide people with access to “adequate, safe and affordable homes”. Under the partnership, Royal HaskoningDHV will offer its expertise in area development and related fields such as environmental assessment, mobility, digital services and urban planning. Initial developments are scheduled in the UK where Royal HaskoningDHV has been commissioned by Vital Future Group for the area development to realize 80,000 homes. Vital Future Group and Royal HaskoningDHV are conducting a world scan exploring the possibilities for large-scale housing development and the opportunities to improve the lives of people and their communities. Focus is on optimizing the possibilities for people by stimulating inclusive growth and delivering greater social value. Besides the United Kingdom, the partnership is actively looking into opportunities in the Netherlands, other European countries and South Africa as a starting point.
According to research by the United Nations, the world is in urgent need of large-scale housing development, with three billion people needing a home by 2030. At today’s rate of housing development, it will not be possible to satisfy this demand. Vital Future Group and Royal HaskoningDHV aim to change the perspective, bringing together all parties in the value chain – from landowners and future homeowners to suppliers, financiers and governments – and arrange all planning and licensing required. This will make cooperation possible to exponentially accelerate the pace, so the world can build at the speed it needs. Developing a digital platform enterprise that will bring all stakeholders together and match the demand and supply of housing in an area. A scalable platform as the go-to-place for all home related needs, offering services that are life-stage driven to empower people to live a better life. The platform will enable large-scale area development and high-quality housing development in all sectors that also delivers on biodiversity and climate-resilience ambitions.