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WASHINGTON (February 22, 2021) – Real estate developers and property owners are increasingly seeing the value that dockless, shared, and electric micromobility vehicles, such as scooters and e-bikes, can bring to their properties, according to a new report from the Urban Land Institute’s (ULI) Building Healthy Places Initiative. The Urban Land Institute is a global, member-driven organization comprising more than 45,000 real estate and urban development professionals dedicated to advancing the Institute’s mission of shaping the future of the built environment for transformative impact in communities worldwide.

Small Vehicles, Big Impact: Micromobility’s Value for Cities and Real Estate shares research developed through ULI’s partnership supporting the Bloomberg Philanthropies American Cities Climate Challenge. The report describes the real estate perspective on micromobility, focusing on scooters and e-bikes. Developers and property owners can support micromobility options by providing publicly accessible infrastructure on their properties, such as onsite charging stations or parking spaces converted to scooter dropoff zones. These investments in micromobility infrastructure create value and bring other benefits that support development project success.

Expanded mobility options will continue to be important, both as cities and downtowns recover from the pandemic and as they seek to promote more sustainable alternatives to driving. The report can serve as a resource for city officials seeking to understand the real estate perspective on micromobility. It will help determine which policies and incentives might advance city goals while garnering support from the real estate industry, and promoting equitable implementation.

Investing in micromobility infrastructure offers many benefits for the real estate industry, including:

• amenity value;
• potential of reduced car parking requirements;
• enhanced commuting and connections to transit;
• increased access to more locations throughout the city; and
• project marketing opportunities.

Small Vehicles also notes micromobility’s potential to provide equity and sustainability benefits. As a low-carbon alternative to driving, micromobility expands the radius that people can easily travel without a car. In fact, 36 percent of trips using shared micromobility replace a car trip. Micromobility also helps link people to transit hubs and jobs, reduce traffic congestion, and preserve air quality—priorities for both cities and the real estate industry as they strive to create better places to live, work, and play.

Many cities have promoted equitable access to micromobility options, including subsidized costs or differing payment methods; protected bike lanes and enhanced infrastructure improvements; and requiring the deployment of micromobility options in all neighborhoods.

The report offers suggestions of what cities can do to create a micromobility-supportive real estate environment, including setting out recommendations to:

• reduce parking requirements or allow increased density for installing infrastructure like charging stations;
• allow advertising and sponsor recognition on docking and charging stations;
• offer tax credits, rebates, and grants for the installation of micromobility charging stations;
• develop incentives or requirements for building owners to provide micromobility services at low or no cost.

“Dockless micromobility is here and will continue to disrupt cities,” said Diana Schoder, senior associate, Building Healthy Places, and author of the report. “Despite initial concerns that the misuse of micromobility can have a negative affect, such as sidewalk clutter or property damage, the real estate industry is already recognizing the value in micromobility for both new developments and existing properties. When real estate professionals and cities work toward mutually beneficial goals, micromobility has the potential for an outsized impact on mobility, equity, and sustainability.”

For more information, and to download the report, visit ULI’s Knowledge Finder platform.