Among the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, historians will list an important technological shift. Just as the growth of the factory changed where and how people lived, the rise of remote working is an enormous shock. It will affect not just corporate life and how businesses arrange themselves, but macroeconomics and geography.
For the office-heavy cities at the heart of it, it is an unprecedented shock — their version of the closure of coal mines or car manufacturing plants. And just as industrial areas have had to adapt before, many world cities must adapt now. It is not a moment for loom-breaking. But it would also be a mistake if states were not to help cities to manage this transition.
The effects of the growth of homeworking are being felt, most visibly, in the decline of commuting. In London and New York, the middle has been hollowed out while the edges are doing better. Many offices remain only partially filled by commuters, who no longer make the trek in every day — while the shops and businesses that serve them suffer. In addition, people are moving away altogether. In the US, this is powered in part by lower tax rates.
