Generali Real Estate’s “City Forward®”, a geospatial tool for precise and reliable market predictions
From urban planning to real estate and environmental analyses, the location intelligence tool, co-funded by the Generali Innovation Fund, combines satellite images, geographic information systems, and real-time mobility data to deliver hyperlocal insights
In today's digital age, organisations collect large amounts of data but often lack the geographical context needed for actionable insights, leaving businesses overwhelmed and unable to fully leverage their data. Without understanding the “where” factor, companies risk significant operational inefficiencies, misallocating resources and missing opportunities, hindering overall effectiveness.
Moreover, as personalization is crucial in today's market, companies need to deliver tailored experiences - and integrating spatial data into their strategies thus plays a key role.
Addressing these challenges, City Forward® — developed by Generali Real Estate and co-funded by The Generali Innovation Fund — offers a cutting-edge location intelligence solution. The platform employs AI to provide granular micro-area data insights that:
- help predict market attractiveness,
- improve operational efficiency,
- and reduce investment risks up to 40%.
City Forward® combines real-time and historical data for comprehensive spatial analysis, making it a game-changing tool for professionals across various industries.
How does City Forward® work?
City Forward® is a platform that works by leveraging a unique dataset developed in partnership with leading providers of real estate and georeferenced data, advanced granularity, and a proprietary algorithm. It considers over 800 variables and employs more than 30 machine learning models to analyse data.
By merging real-time and historical data, it can locate prime spots, understand consumer behaviour, maximise advertising impact and analyse commuting patterns. The cloud platform uses an AI proprietary algorithm that has been extensively tested by over 400 professionals at Generali Real Estate over the past four years. This rigorous testing and incorporation of local expertise have resulted in an accuracy rate of over 95%.
Transformative use cases of City Forward®
The City Forward® cloud platform can be applied to several fields as it is designed to empower professionals across various industries.
Real estate
City Forward® is particularly transformative for the real estate sector. Investors can use the platform to minimize risk when pinpointing prime investment locations, forecasting market trends, and evaluating the potential of different properties with exceptional accuracy.
Urban planning
It can also be used for urban planning, helping planners understand urban growth patterns to optimize land use and design more efficient and sustainable cities. By analysing commuting patterns, population density, and infrastructure needs, planners can create plans that better meet the needs of the community.
Retail
Retail businesses benefit from City Forward® by gaining insights into consumer behaviour and improving customer engagement. By understanding location-specific data, retailers can choose the best sites for new stores, tailor marketing strategies to local preferences, and enhance the overall customer experience.
Environmental analyses
In addition, City Forward® contributes to environmental sustainability efforts. The platform can map CO2 emissions and analyse environmental impact data, supporting climate action initiatives. Cities can use these insights to create policies aimed at reducing carbon footprints, promoting green spaces, and improving overall environmental quality.
City Forward® is already active in 11 cities across Europe: Paris, Milan, Rome, London, Berlin, Hamburg, Frankfurt, Düsseldorf, Madrid, Prague, and Warsaw, with other cities planned for future expansion. Following discussions for potential commercialization, the platform has now also transitioned to a public release, highlighting its potential as a game-changing AI tool for supporting investment decisions in the real estate sector.
