Global financial crisis
What it is
A collapse in US subprime mortgages from 2007 cascaded into a worldwide banking crisis and the deepest recession since the 1930s, peaking with the failure of Lehman Brothers in September 2008. Mass foreclosures emptied recently built suburbs, megaprojects stalled, construction collapsed and many governments turned to austerity. The crisis exposed how deeply housing finance and securitised mortgages had become embedded in the global economy and in urban development. Recovery was uneven and prolonged, with house prices and building slow to return in many regions.
Why it matters
It ended a long real-estate-led building boom and exposed financialised housing as a central driver of urban form and inequality. It also fuelled the Occupy movement and a lasting politics of housing affordability that reshaped urban debate.
Plans it shaped
- Amsterdam Zuidas (1998–)
- Glasgow Clyde Waterfront Regeneration (2000s–)
- San Francisco Transbay Redevelopment Plan (2005)
- Yas Island Masterplan (Abu Dhabi) (2006–)
- Lusail City Masterplan (Qatar) (2006–)
- King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD), Riyadh (2006–)
- Diyar Al Muharraq (Bahrain) (2006–)
- Indore Development Plan 2021 (2008)
- Chennai Second Master Plan 2026 (2008)
- Lisbon Alcântara Waterfront Plan (2008)
- Bahrain National Plan 2030 (2008)
- Nice Eco-Vallée Plaine du Var (2008)