Real Estate Construction and Holding Companies (RECHCOs) have been used by governments in the Arab world as a vehicle for stimulus to promote development. This thesis will examine two particular examples of RECHCOs within city centres: Solidere in Beirut and Abdali in Amman. The RECHCOs in these instances were completely private companies presented as the inevitable choice for the rehabilitation of the centre to create a modern downtown, accompanied by a slew of benefits including job creation, investment, increased tourism potential, and upgraded infrastructure. In return the RECHCOs received political support, public subsidies, tax incentives and exemptions, and the right to expropriate privately owned land, generally reserved for governments. The thesis aims to explore this narrative through the lens of RECHCOs' impact on Arab cities' citizens. It will make the argument that though RECHCOs seem to be appealing and easy tools for contemporary cities they do not live up to their promises of political, economic and social benefits, especially as seen from the perspective of city citizens. The thesis contributes a comprehensive empirical case study to the literature on the modern Arab world, which to date has not explored the impacts of projects such as RECHCOs. The research included stakeholder interviews, a representative sample survey of over 1,500 Amman residents, a comprehensive literature review, a thorough media review, a legislative review, examination of company records, and data gathering from government databases and published statistics. Within three chapters dealing with the social, political and economic impacts of RECHCOs, the case studies presented are discussed across several themes central to urban planning literature both in the context of the Arab city and beyond. The Thesis includes a discussion of the role of the city centre within the city, and the RECHCOs' diminishing effect which undermines the centre as a place of society, gathering, economy and politics. The Thesis looks at heritage and memory in the city in the context of RECHCOs whereby as a consequence of ignoring established traditions in cities RECHCOs have a detrimental impact. RECHCOs undercut political processes, bypass social and traditional heritage, and destroy physical historical structures. RECHCOs are framed within an examination of privatised and contested public space within cities. The new RECHCO downtowns are physically isolated and privately guarded. They are housed with exclusive functions, high-end luxury commercial establishments, and highly priced residential and office space. Previous residents are priced out of the area through gentrification, and the economic windfalls of RECHCOs are diverted towards transnational investors and local elite with limited distributional and trickle-down benefits. The subsequent exclusive – and segregated - space created by the RECHCO gives rise to a sense of antagonism amongst city citizens. RECHCOs thus interrupt the interaction between public space and participation damaging active citizenship within the city. The thesis frames RECHCOs as a tool of urban governance and policies, in the context of weakened local governments and the alienation of citizens. The thesis concludes with a series of lessons learnt.

Employer brand establishes a firms’ identity as an employer. It distinguishes one firm from others, creating an identity that gives a competitive advantage in the search for skilled workforce. This identity is becoming harder to establish for each day and is said to be just as important as retaining loyal customers. A strong employer brand can lead to a better pool of applicants in the recruitment process and many other returns, both financial and other. In the real estate sector in Sweden there is currently an excess demand for competent employees and this problem is growing for each day. Hence the matter of employer branding becomes of utter most important to this sector. Due to the importance of the matter in this market, we have come to realise that the market lacks a tool that makes the subject of employer branding more applicable and measurable. This study presents an index and complementing results that makes the matter more hands on and applicable in practice. Through a large quantitative study with questionnaires and through studying previous research on the subject, the main factors that affect employer branding have been distinguished and enquired about in the survey. The results from the study show that there is a correlation between how well known the companies are and how attractive they are as employers to current and potential employees. It also shows that the results on an average are rather low and that there is a lack of investments in companies employer brands, both in a financial terms and in a time perspective.

Es wird untersucht, wie der Stadtraum alternder Immobilienbestände revitalisiert werden kann. Dazu werden drei Fragen gestellt: (i) Wie homogen sollen Immobilienensembles sein, (ii) wie sollen Fassaden gestaltet sein und (iii) wie kommen schlicht gestaltete Immobilien im sogenannten „Bauhausstil“ an, die sich derzeit schnell verbreiten. Ergebnisse von vier Befragungen in den Regionen Hamburg, Rhein-Main-Gebiet, München, Berlin und Sachsen mit insgesamt 600 Personen werden vorgestellt. Es zeigt sich, dass die Homogenität von Gebäudeensembles einen hohen Stellenwert hat. Es gibt eine positive Zahlungsbereitschaft und die Einzugsbereitschaft ist höher. Fassaden von Immobilien sollen abwechslungsreich gestaltet sein. Zu schlichte, zu karge Fassaden entsprechen nicht den Wünschen der Menschen. Der Bauhausstil wird überwiegend kritisch gesehen. Häuser im Bauhausstil, die derzeit in jede Baulücke gebaut werden und traditionelle Gebäudeensemble auseinanderreißen, sind eine große Gefahr für die Homogenität von Siedlungen. Eine signifikante Mehrheit präferiert es, wenn Baulücken mit angepassten Häusern gefüllt werden, welche die Homogenität des Gesamtensembles nicht angreifen. Etwas mehr als 10 % abweichende Häuser zerstören den Eindruck von Homogenität. Insgesamt verdeutlichen die Befunde den sozialen Aspekt des Bauens: Wer ein unpassendes Gebäude in einer gewachsenen Struktur errichtet, welches die Homogenität dieser Struktur verringert, der schädigt die Menschen, die in dieser Struktur leben und damit indirekt auch die anderen Immobilienbesitzer. Die Angst der Kommunen vor nachteiligen Entwicklungen von Siedlungen, die ein hohes Alter erreicht haben, kann nachvollzogen und bestätigt werden. Der Verzicht der Kommunen auf den Erlass von Gestaltsatzungen ist deshalb kontraproduktiv. Bauträger und Redeveloper sollten sich mehr disziplinieren und angepasster bauen als das oft der Fall ist. / The analysis looks at ageing property portfolios that need to be redeveloped. Three questions are asked: (i) Is homogeneity a necessary quality? (ii) Are there general rules for facade constructions? (iii) Is the so called Bauhaus-style with its stark and plain facades, which spreads rapidly through Germany, a recommendable solution? The results of four surveys with 600 test persons are being reported: Homogeneity of building ensembles has proven to be very important. Tenants have a positive willingness to pay to avoid an inhomogeneous situation. Facades should be differentiated – they must not be too plain, stark and shapeless. Facades in the so called Bauhaus-style are seen predominantly critically. They do not receive consent. A vast majority rejects this style. If undeveloped or redesigned areas are filled with houses in the Bauhaus-style while the majority of nearby houses is built in a different style the homogeneity is endangered. 10 % deviating houses from a prevailing style are enough to destroy the impression of homogeneity und lower the value of the whole estate. This underlines the social aspect of construction: those who erect constructions that destroy homogeneity trigger harmful effects on many other tenants and property owners. Therefore local authorities should use the instrument of “Gestaltsatzungen” (formal aesthetic requirements for buildings) to prevent disadvantages.