Thread by @UofTCities

Excerpts from "'America’s Post-Pandemic Geography' - Covid-19 is transforming all types of communities, from big cities to suburbs to rural areas" - from the Summer 2021 Issue of @CityJournal - by @Richard_Florida & @joelkotkin. A #Thread.

The article → city-journal.org/americas-post-…

1. "The #Pandemic will pass...But in geographic terms, today’s Covid-precipitated crises may well prove to be the most transformative event that #America has experienced since the great migration to the suburbs after World War II."

2. "....centrifugal forces pull some people out of #Cities: families seek more #Affordable space, backyards, and access to better schools. With the wider scope of choice that #RemoteWork affords, some are casting their nets wider and moving farther afield..."

3. "It’s hard to predict how this will play out in the long run, but the #Pandemic has placed a new burden on all communities. Big cities, Sunbelt boomtowns, small #Urban regions, & rural areas alike must develop effective strategies for #Recovery in a post-pandemic world."

4. "While large #Urban centers & big states still have the highest overall death tolls, more sparsely populated places overtook them on a per-capita basis...The danger lies not in density...but in overcrowding: the number of people per square foot, as opposed to square mile."

5. "The swift distribution of vaccines makes #Urban comebacks more likely, & far more rapid, than those of ancient cities rising after eruptions of the plague...But part of the exodus ...is rooted in...their increasing #Unaffordability."

6. "The pandemic has worsened the new #Urban #Crisis of rampant gentrification, high living costs, & class & #Racial division—all sharply dramatized amid the wave of protests & riots in the summer of 2020."

7. "...the biggest hurdle facing superstar #Cities is major changes in the geography of work. The shift to #RemoteWork will endure...the central business districts of superstar cities...may become the last remaining #Urban holdover from the industrial revolution..."

8. "With limited residential populations, devoid of people at night, they were the classic nine-to-five, one-dimensional places. Yet the current calamity, while posing steep fiscal & #Economic challenges, presents an opportunity for reimagination & revitalization."
#Recovery

9. "Talented people will continue to be attracted to great #Urban neighborhoods...this may not be enough...Their prosperity will turn on their ability to rebuild as more #Inclusive & #Resilient places & as more #Affordable places of opportunity for the working & middle classes."

10. "The current shift to #RemoteWork makes geographic rebalancing...more feasible...Such a rebalancing might help not only smaller #Cities develop more robust #Economies but also take some pressure off the #Housing & real-estate markets of superstar cities & tech hubs..."

11. "This growth—which the #Pandemic has only reinforced—is due to a combination of more #Affordable housing, lower taxes, less regulation, the availability of developable land, more building, and, in many cases, a warm climate."

12. "smaller & medium-size former industrial satellites surrounding the bigger #Cities...provide an option for nearby suburban professionals to go to work or meet with colleagues without enduring the long commutes & high prices (of) superstar cities."

13. "That said, not every small & medium-size metro is rising. Many older cities outside coastal metros and Sunbelt growth centers will continue to face considerable headwinds that the #Pandemic only worsened."

14. "Since 2012, suburbs & exurbs have accounted for about 90 percent of all metropolitan growth...The #Pandemic has compressed into months family-formation moves that would have been made over years...Yet not all #Suburbs are thriving."

15. "...suburbs are seeing increased growth in poverty, though still at a far slower rate than in #Cities...wealthy #Suburbs have been the main beneficiaries of the in-migration of educated professionals earning more than $75,000 per year, especially those aged 30 to 44."

16. "A new model appears to be emerging, transforming many suburbs from bedroom communities to #MixedUse places...#RemoteWork gives such #Suburbs a chance to remake themselves into places where people work closer to where they live."

17. "...in the offing is a shift of #Offices back to #Suburbs; abandoned malls & office parks can be transformed into new #RemoteWork hubs with office space, coworking space, restaurants, cafés, & fitness studios, as well as single-family homes, townhomes, & rental apartments."

18. "Despite the success of high-amenity #Rural areas near major metros, however, many more rural areas struggle with high rates of poverty & #Economic dislocation & have suffered immeasurably from the #Opioid epidemic."

19. "As companies reduce their physical footprints, the driving force of local #Economic development shifts from attracting #Businesses to attracting and retaining talent...Other smaller regions have the opportunity to attract #RemoteWorkers."

20. "When it comes to the arts, the #Covid19 pandemic tilts the balance from mass-produced toward locally sourced #Culture. In the absence of large events...a void opened for #Communities to capitalize on #Local arts & #culture...local artists, performers, & other #Creatives."

21. "The #Covid crisis has also put a premium on health and safety...People will choose to live in places that address #Health & wellness...Regions across the U.S. must put health & safety at the forefront of their #Recovery plans."

22. "#Covid19 has also focused America’s attention on its long-standing divisions of #Race & class...For a #Recovery to be #Sustainable, it must be #Inclusive; it cannot be accomplished without economic growth as well as sensible political & social #Reform."

23. "...recovery...should include #Innovation, #Economic development, addressing persistent #Poverty, stimulating #Recovery in the hard-hit arts & #Cultural sector, upgrading & improving #Education, & improving #Services like roads, policing, & basic health & sanitation."

24. "...no one-size-fits-all strategy when it comes to the future...communities will face serious challenges, but...have opportunities to remake themselves (with) intentional and strategic action. Without it, the... inequities...will only grow."