CANNES, FRANCE - ERA-co, the world’s leading placemaking and destination strategy firm, will bring its integrated, systems-driven approach to urban development to MIPIM 2026, taking place March 9–13 at the Palais des Festivals in Cannes.
Representing ERA-co at this year’s conference are Paolo Testolini, USP Global Director, Urban Design and Masterplanning, and Taras Kashko, Global Leader, Urban Design and Masterplanning, both based in the firm’s Dubai home studio.
MIPIM is one of the world’s most influential real estate gatherings, convening global leaders, investors, policymakers, and designers to explore the future of cities and development. ERA-co is expected to be among the few, and potentially the only, global placemaking firms in attendance, offering a distinctive perspective that integrates strategy, design, data, and long-term governance.
“ERA-co brings a fundamentally different lens to conversations about development,” said Paolo Testolini. “For us, masterplanning is not simply about arranging buildings on a site — it is about designing adaptive frameworks that guide how communities evolve over time. Our work is grounded in environmental responsibility, systems thinking, and long-term value for the places and people these plans ultimately serve.”
With offices across Australia, North America, Europe, and the Middle East, ERA-co is the largest placemaking brand operating globally today. This international presence enables the firm to deliver insights shaped by diverse cultural, economic, and urban contexts, a core competitive advantage in an increasingly complex development landscape.
At MIPIM, Testolini and Kashko will engage with global stakeholders on next-generation masterplanning, regenerative design, and the integration of emerging technologies into urban strategy.
“Our ambition is to redefine how cities are conceived,” said Taras Kashko. “We believe future-ready cities must balance performance, resilience, and human experience. That requires moving beyond static masterplans toward living, testable models informed by data, AI, and deep contextual understanding.”
ERA-co's approach centres on the relationship between people and place — across every scale of the built environment. Rather than treating masterplanning as an exercise in organising space, ERA-co operates at the intersection of creativity, business, and urbanism to shape experiences that are genuinely human-centric, whether intuitive or intentional, everyday or extraordinary.
Central to this vision is the belief that a compelling place must be legible, emotionally resonant, and strategically coherent across every audience it touches — from the investor seeing potential for the first time, to the resident finding a part of themselves in the experience, to the visitor discovering its story. ERA-co carries that vision from initial idea through to lived experience, bridging imagination and execution with a clear sense of purpose.
"MIPIM brings together the people who are shaping the future of cities — investors, policymakers, designers, developers,” said Testolini. “Our ultimate goal is not just to participate in that conversation, but to shift it — toward a masterplanning model that integrates strategy, data, and placemaking from day one, and measures success by the long-term performance and quality of life it enables."
For more information about ERA-co visit www.era-co.com. ERA-co is part of the 7C Network.
About ERA-co
ERA-co is a global place consultancy partnering with ambitious leaders to shape high-performing places — from workplaces to large-scale urban masterplans. Operating at the intersection of creativity, commercial strategy and urbanism, we develop the vision, positioning and experience frameworks that guide development and unlock long-term social and economic value. We believe place is one of the most powerful levers for advancing human potential and driving sustainable growth. Part of the 7C network.
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