On 9 April 2026, at the Spazio Craft of the Politecnico di Milano, the research report “The Financialisation of the Urban Market. The Milan Case” was presented, edited by Alberto Bortolotti and Gabriele Pasqui of DAStU – Department of Architecture and Urban Studies – with the support of MaudLab. The event, introduced by DAStU Director Carolina Pacchi and Craft Director Valeria Fedeli, was also attended by Paola Delmonte, Senior Advisor at Near Sgr Benefit Company, bringing the contribution of an organisation that operates daily at the intersection of urban development, social impact and financial instruments.

The research presented by the Politecnico di Milano offers, for the first time, a quantitative and spatial mapping of financialisation in the Milanese real estate market: 4,054 financialised properties recorded in the metropolitan area, the presence of major banking, insurance and asset management players, and an analysis of value changes in urban transformation areas between 2020 and 2025. A rigorous and necessary study, which Delmonte welcomed as an essential contribution to the public debate on the future of the city.

At the same time, Delmonte’s intervention introduced a distinction that the research, by its quantitative nature, could not yet fully develop: that between those who operate in the real estate market with purely financial return objectives and those who instead embrace urban regeneration as a mission, using finance as a lever to create shared value.

A central point of Delmonte’s intervention was precisely this: the financialisation of real estate — that is, the treatment of properties as mere assets to be optimised — must not be confused with finance as such. Finance is, and remains, an indispensable tool for the development of the real estate sector. The issue is not whether to use it, but how and with what objectives.

The sector requires substantial capital and long time horizons. In this context, the quality of investors matters as much as the quantity of investments. Institutional investors — such as those supporting Near — bring with them a mandate of social responsibility that steers choices towards long-term impact, rather than short-term profit.

Near is a next-generation operator in the Italian urban regeneration landscape. Born from the coming together of Redo Sgr and EuroMilano, the group works on complex projects that combine the physical transformation of spaces, urban quality of life, and environmental and social sustainability. Its main areas of activity include the regeneration of neighbourhoods and brownfield sites, and living in its various forms, from affordable housing to the open market.

As Delmonte highlighted, there is a substantial difference between those who turn assets into profit through real estate trading and those who pursue urban development by creating added value for communities. Near firmly belongs to the second category.

In closing her remarks, Delmonte invoked a principle that Europe has made unavoidable: when it comes to real estate and cities, the issue of housing must remain central. Not as a constraint, but as a compass. Urban regeneration that fails to address the housing needs of all risks becoming a value-creation process that is an end in itself, without social roots.

This is the challenge that Near takes on, contributing to the academic and institutional debate with the concrete experience of those who work in the field.