Andrea Pizziconi | Real estate as a catalyst for social change

Can real estate development deliver social justice?

Andrea Pizziconi is a singer, songwriter and social entrepreneur. She is the founder of the Christie Company (a pioneer in affordable, mixed-use developments) and of Africa Integras (financier of education infrastructure in Africa) as well as the co-founder of Compositions for a Cause, which creates cause-related music to inspire activism for social justice.

In this podcast:

• Educational infrastructure & real estate as a catalyst for regeneration
• Funding with social capital - how to do it
• Is private capital the answer to social issues?
• The impact of building design on learning faculties and the role that taking care of other social needs plays
• Looking beyond student housing when it come to educational real estate investment
• Combining careers in music and real estate

Andrea’s recommended books are:

• The Death and Life of Great American Cities, Jane Jacobs 
• Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York, Robert A. Caro

Her favourite buildings are:

• The Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao, designed by Frank Gehry for its visual impact at sunset
• The Dancing House Building in Prague (also known as Fred & Ginger), also designed by Frank Gehry
• The World Financial Center, New York, designed by Cesár Pelli, where the glass is designed to perfectly mirror the changing colours of the sky

Andrea’s technology to watch out for is those that can empower the end user of the built environment. Her company, Girls First Finance, is certainly one to watch in this regard.