Where cities talk to money

摘要

Sam Jacob reports from mipim, the annual real estate fair in Cannes where the mechanics of contemporary city-making are laid bare In the easyJet queue at Gatwick, the gate attendants check their manifest. "There's 170 men and 20 women on this plane. Must be a football match!" Well, no. It's not football but property that's gathered us here at the crack of dawn. We, and 20,000 other delegates from around the world, are heading to mipim (Marche International des Professionnels de l'Immobilier), the international property fair held annually in Cannes. It's where developers, planners, agents, investors, regions and cities, as well as those further down the food chain, like drainage consultants and architects, get together, promote, network and, most importantly, swap business cards.