Webinar synopsis: Architecture and urban development do not emerge in a vacuum. While architects are increasingly trained to consider human perception, embodiment, and behavior in their designs, the reality is that what gets built, who it serves, and how it looks are dictated by forces outside of architecture itself. Real estate developers, public institutions, and planners—those who finance, approve, and execute projects—operate within a system where capital, rather than human or ecological needs, is the primary driver. The result? An urban landscape shaped more by financial imperatives than by the fundamental needs of life to flourish. As the economic and capital landscape further separates use and exchange value, the conditions under which architecture is realized become less about what design can do and more about what design can earn.

The competing dynamics of capital and social value are often diametrically opposed. The poorest and most vulnerable are frequently excluded from access to the best that architecture can offer, relegated to spaces of functional necessity rather than those designed for beauty, well-being, or dignity. This issue is fundamentally rooted in the principles of valuation, where ‘value’ is predominantly defined in economic terms, serving the interests of a narrow, privileged group of investors, corporations, and financial institutions. However, this narrow framework neglects non-economic value drivers, or drivers that deliver economic value outside the normal confines of commercial return periods.The prevailing financial structures that dictate urban development rarely account for these dimensions, reinforcing a system that prioritizes short-term financial return over long-term social and environmental sustainability.