A very interesting article. In London we have the same post-pandemic effect, with far fewer workers coming into the city. It is having a bad economic effect on restaurants and shops. The financial area of London is not set up for people to live, at the weekend it practically closes. So we do have to redesign our cities.
I love the concept of flexible working, especially for parents. But along with that we are social creatures, and in the end I think we need to be together in offices. It creates an energy, and exchange of ideas, that is not possible at the end of a telephone line.
I agree with both points--we need to redesign cities for the new reality, precisely because we are social creatures that thrive on in-real-life experiences and interactions. Work-from-home seems to be settling at "hybrid," with days in office varying by industry and company (but some at the tail ends of everyday or never). Hybrid still leaves a surplus of office space, so cities need to find ways to fill that space with people--through residential conversions or replacements, or allowing different (i.e., non-office) commercial uses. Zoning regimes in many cities are forcibly keeping their office districts in a lock and perpetuating the old status quo. So reform is needed to adapt to the world we live in today. Thanks for your comments!
A very interesting article. In London we have the same post-pandemic effect, with far fewer workers coming into the city. It is having a bad economic effect on restaurants and shops. The financial area of London is not set up for people to live, at the weekend it practically closes. So we do have to redesign our cities.
I love the concept of flexible working, especially for parents. But along with that we are social creatures, and in the end I think we need to be together in offices. It creates an energy, and exchange of ideas, that is not possible at the end of a telephone line.
I agree with both points--we need to redesign cities for the new reality, precisely because we are social creatures that thrive on in-real-life experiences and interactions. Work-from-home seems to be settling at "hybrid," with days in office varying by industry and company (but some at the tail ends of everyday or never). Hybrid still leaves a surplus of office space, so cities need to find ways to fill that space with people--through residential conversions or replacements, or allowing different (i.e., non-office) commercial uses. Zoning regimes in many cities are forcibly keeping their office districts in a lock and perpetuating the old status quo. So reform is needed to adapt to the world we live in today. Thanks for your comments!