Sit outside and enjoy a coffee, watch passers-by or have a good conversation. Outdoor dining significantly improves the quality of public spaces in neighbourhoods, whether or not they have a retail district. Streets become livelier and invite people to linger.

That is why, according to Eckhard Brockhoff, it is right and important not only to extend the permission originally granted during the coronavirus pandemic for outdoor dining in parking spaces, but to make it permanent. “Wherever outdoor dining works well, neighbourhoods and their retailers thrive. Hospitality and shopping simply belong together,” says Brockhoff, who began his career letting retail premises more than 35 years ago.

Vienna offers an example to follow. After a pause caused by the pandemic, the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) again ranked it the world’s most liveable city in 2022. “There is a café, bar or restaurant with outdoor seating on every corner in Vienna. It is not confined to busy streets but spread throughout the city. That makes the city more attractive and improves residential quality, because many people have no balcony or garden but still enjoy spending time outdoors,” explains Eckhard Brockhoff.

High-street retailers stand to benefit in particular. Where people are out and about on the streets, they also go into shops instead of buying online from the sofa at home.

Even if outdoor dining means giving up parking spaces, the property specialist’s appeal is clear: “The key to lively neighbourhoods with thriving retail is the quality of public spaces. To achieve that, we need more outdoor dining areas where people can linger.”