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MANY of those who left Cape Town for smaller towns during the pandemic are returning to the city. PICTURE: ZOE REEVE/UNSPLASH
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People boomeranging back to urban centres
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Residents are returning to the cities after the pandemic exodus BY VIVIAN WARBY LMOST two years ago, cities came to a standstill at the start of the antiCovid strategies implemented by President Cyril Ramaphosa who, on March 23, 2020, announced a national 21-day lockdown, starting on March 27. Many residents fled their city homes and businesses as amenities such as restaurants, bars, theatres, schools and offices – all the things that made city living attractive – were shuttered. It seemed, at first, Covid was spelling the end for cities, places that drew people by offering jobs, a melting pot of cultures and easy access to top-end amenities. In pre-Covid days, even though city living came with cons such as high population density, higher living expenses, less space for your buck and transport issues, people were willing to fork out – if they could afford to – to be where it was all happening. But the pandemic changed this as offices shut down and nine-tofivers went overnight from having
to go into the office daily to being able to walk to their laptops in the next room to start their day. Added to that, small towns started flourishing as workers realised they could have it all (well, almost) in their work-from-home lives, swapping the city for places that offered a better quality of life, more space and less hustle. However, the pandemic, it seems, has not completely killed cities and many people are now returning to the urban hubs. After the pandemic exodus, these city slickers, dubbed “the boomerang residents”, are realising the grass is not always greener on the other side. The latest Knight Frank Wealth Report corroborates this. “Cities came roaring back to life in 2021 and still have further to go.” It adds: “In 2022 we will see even more life breathed back into them as we enter the next stage of the pandemic recovery.” The reopening of the hospitality and leisure sectors has played a part in bringing people back to our major cities, as well as the push by big business to have a hybrid or full in-office working week.
Big business is also pumping money into these areas to make them more attractive to a young workforce. FNB economist John Loos, while agreeing that “cities have obviously come back after hard lockdowns”, doesn’t believe they will get back to the buzz of pre-Covid levels. Tasso Evangelinos, chief executive of the Cape Town Central City Improvement District, says they have seen the daily footfall into the central city increasing steadily since mid-January. Town is getting busier, he says, but agrees with Loos: “The numbers are nothing near pre-Covid-19 figures, when we had hundreds of thousands of people coming into the city every day, but if you compare March 2020, when the hard lockdown came into effect, to March 2022 there is a vast difference. “What is evident is that office workers are returning to their desks. Corporate headquarters – of which there are more than 55 in the CBD – are starting to call their workers back to the office, either full-time or in a hybrid work arrangement, in terms of their remote work policies.” In his latest YouTube video, Loos does, however, contemplate
whether the latest fuel price surge might delay the return for many office workers. Architect and urbanist Tholo Makhaola, the SA Institute of Black Property Professionals’s immediate past president, believes “the re-emergence of the city was inevitable considering its importance in stimulating economic activities”. However, he says: “It has definitely come with a renewed sense of responsibility for urban planners, clients in the property sector and built environment professionals to consider the long-term effects Covid has had on how we perceive urban and private spaces.” Makhaola, who is based in Joburg, says the reality is the pandemic “has essentially changed the way people are interacting, which might start to inform the various ways in which our cities (public spaces), offices (places of work) and homes (private spaces) are designed in the future – yet, interestingly, human beings are, in essence social, beings”. “All the pandemic has done, I believe, is given people a renewed Continued on p3
DISCLAIMER: The publisher and editor of this magazine give no warranties, guarantees or assurances and make no representations regarding any goods or services advertised within this edition. Copyright ANA Publishing. All rights reserved. No portion of this publication may be reproduced in any form without prior written consent from ANA Publishing. The publishers are not responsible for any unsolicited material. Publisher Vasantha Angamuthu vasantha@africannewsagency.com Executive Editor Property and Environment Vivian Warby vivian.warby@inl.co.za Features Writer Bonny Fourie bronwyn.fourie@inl.co.za Design Kim Stone kim.stone@inl.co.za
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