RESEARCH
Location, location, LOCATION Cities are incubators of innovation and knowledge-sharing, boosted by the daily influx of commuters heading to offices. As workplaces in most urban areas remain closed or operating well below capacity, what does the future hold for our metropolises? – by Michelle Sturman
C
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ities are the primary driving engine of economies – more than 80% of global GDP is generated in cities, according to the World Bank – and hubs of ingenuity, social interaction and culture. In existence for thousands of years, many have risen and fallen, while others have been rebuilt time and again following fires, invasions, plagues, famine and war. The advent of the most recent global pandemic – COVID-19 – has turned vibrant cities into relative ghost towns in many areas of the world over the past year. Disease and viruses have always thrived in high-density locations, and in the 21st century, this has been exacerbated by mass transportation. Currently, work-from-home (WFH) mandates and retail closures are being rolled back across many countries as vaccination programmes make progress. However, expectations for a return en masse to the office are slowly diminishing. The continued prevalence of hybrid working and the slow reopening of workplaces continues to affect the liveliness of cities as, certainly during the working week, office-based employees are significant contributors to their economy.
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BACK TO REALITY Thought leaders on post-COVID cities are broadly divided into two camps: those who believe we have short memories, and that everything will return to the way it was pre-coronavirus as opposed to others who expect a radical rethink of the way cities operate. The reality is likely somewhere in-between. An excellent report for a broad and balanced overview is Arup’s Future of Offices: In a Post-pandemic World. Arup is a professional services company focused on the built
environment. The study investigates some of the themes and thinking from its property teams around the world, revealing experiences, insights and variations from each global region. As with the majority of pre-existing trends, the coronavirus crisis has exacerbated and accelerated them. Cities are in a perpetual state of metamorphism, but the pandemic exposed their lack of resilience. Under the moniker of “green recovery” and “build back better”, governments are seeking to ramp up sustainable practices believed to not only help fortify cities against future virus outbreaks but also expedite the race to net-zero. This goes hand-in-hand with existing strategies including the reduction of traffic pollution – for example, the introduction of low-emission zones and car-free streets. Processes adopted over the past year such as reclaiming roads for pedestrians, social distancing and the increase of cycling routes will remain. The rise of electric modes of transport is also expected. There is an upswell in commitment from major centres around the world to become more sustainable and reach net-zero. As of April 2021, more than 700 cities have signed up for the Race to Zero campaign, while concepts such as the 15-minute city (see page 46 for more information) are also gaining acceptance. At a recent meeting between leading mayors, Chair of C40 Cities Eric Garcetti and UN Secretary-General António Guterres, the latter said investment in recovery [from the pandemic] is a generational opportunity to put climate action, clean energy and sustainable development at the heart of cities’ strategies and policies.
