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https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/05/04/opinion/thrill-city-living-is-gone/
The thesis is straightforward: it is more expensive per square foot to live in the city, so most city residences are quite small, and most amenities of city living, whether that is the gym in the apartment complex, or the museums and nightlife, are shared and thus closed for The Duration. The Duration is likely to last longer in denser areas (depending on the results of serology testing, of course), so even after those shared amenities open up, they might remain unavailable due to rules limiting crowding. People in the city are contemplating their suburban compatriots and thinking, welp, they have cars, their stores are less crowded, they can play in their own yard and go for a walk without worrying about social distancing. Even after The Duration is over, the prospect of a future pandemic will have a reality that this pandemic did not, in its early days and weeks.
In the years leading up to the last recession, R. and I talked a lot about the wave of people moving INTO the city (and driving up prices there). Over the last couple of years, R. and I have talked a lot about how difficulties associated with internet access outside of big cities have made it difficult to live anywhere except in the city or its tighter and wealthier burbs. I figured, the way we make the future work is by putting solar panels on every roof, and broadband everywhere, then we can drive our electric cars to the store or whatever, but otherwise work from home and not have to be near a city. My theory was this would lead to better lives and greater equity.
The arrows point to a dispersal wave. Other people are noticing.
The thesis is straightforward: it is more expensive per square foot to live in the city, so most city residences are quite small, and most amenities of city living, whether that is the gym in the apartment complex, or the museums and nightlife, are shared and thus closed for The Duration. The Duration is likely to last longer in denser areas (depending on the results of serology testing, of course), so even after those shared amenities open up, they might remain unavailable due to rules limiting crowding. People in the city are contemplating their suburban compatriots and thinking, welp, they have cars, their stores are less crowded, they can play in their own yard and go for a walk without worrying about social distancing. Even after The Duration is over, the prospect of a future pandemic will have a reality that this pandemic did not, in its early days and weeks.
In the years leading up to the last recession, R. and I talked a lot about the wave of people moving INTO the city (and driving up prices there). Over the last couple of years, R. and I have talked a lot about how difficulties associated with internet access outside of big cities have made it difficult to live anywhere except in the city or its tighter and wealthier burbs. I figured, the way we make the future work is by putting solar panels on every roof, and broadband everywhere, then we can drive our electric cars to the store or whatever, but otherwise work from home and not have to be near a city. My theory was this would lead to better lives and greater equity.
The arrows point to a dispersal wave. Other people are noticing.