Posted by The pandemic changed how we go about our days in so many ways that we probably don’t fully appreciate. But likely the most impactful change was the proliferation of remote work. There are now 3 times as many work-from-home jobs as there were in 2020. And it’s such a privileged benefit that few companies or organizations can make the choice to bring staff back to the office full time, as they know well that employees will simply leave for a job that allows them to work from home.
As someone who works for a clinical trial organization that produces and ships clinical trial supplies to participants with grave diseases, remote work is simply not an option for me. We worked remotely for a few weeks at the beginning of COVID, but eventually we had to go back into the office, fully masked for much of two years. I’d be lying if I didn’t envy people in comfy clothes, obviously not showered, their cats running across the screen on Zoom meetings. Someone accidentally left their camera on while they were working out one time. Another person was folding their laundry while on a call. These are all benefits I cannot enjoy.
And then there’s the lack of a commute. Mine is 11 minutes each way every day by car. Someone who works from home gets 80 hours or 2 weeks more vacation than I do from work in total each year.
But nothing has suffered more from the popularization of remote work than our cities. Downtowns are filled with empty office buildings, some of which are slowly being turned into mixed use housing. But as these buildings can house far more offices than residences from a people-per-square-foot perspective, so apartments alone cannot solve this puzzle. Furthermore, the businesses that relied on people commuting to work every day have little chance in a city with fewer on-site workers. The lunch spot, the taco cart, the coffee shop and the high-end establishment for business meetings, the bar for a cold one with co-workers after a hell of a day… the patronage just isn’t there to support these businesses at the same level.
Public transit in older, larger cities like Chicago and New York have seen cataclysmic ridership decline, in part because of remote work. The mobility spine of what makes cities great is very much in jeopardy.
Cities are a lot like a machine. Take away a cog or a piston, and the machine struggles to function the same way. The explosion of remote work has been tantamount to removing half of the engine itself. To use a nature perspective, remote work for cities is like deforestation’s effect on our environment and our climate.
Cities rely on people to understand that they are playing a role in a much bigger system. People who live and work in cities understand this. They take the early train ride, fight through the crowds at the hot dog stand on lunch, and still have the energy to walk to an art opening at the local photography studio at night. Cities rely on the people who feel like they are a part of a greater whole, AND that they are a part of the lifespan of that whole. I remember a business owner in Troy, New York sharing with me that, during COVID, her customers made a concerted effort to support her store and the small businesses in the city. This effort ensured that these small businesses could stay open years later.
But unfortunately, and quite understandably, most people don’t think this way. They think about maximizing their time, taking care of their family, and doing what is easiest. And who could blame them? It’s the path of least resistance, and we humans take that path far more often than not.
Most people don’t think of how their physical participation in society, along with their neighbors, can make or break their communities. Our cities have been kept alive by this social dynamic for generations. The population movement to suburbia has been one that cities have had to adapt to for over 50 years. Now they are forced to adapt again, as remote work continues to chip away at the traditional urban ecosystem. And of course, the backdrop to all of this is a Federal administration whose largest opponent is urban voters.
The cities that are succeeding are places like Austin, Dallas and Houston. Car friendly, “new,” sprawling urban centers. It seems that everything that we championed in the return of the traditional city life is once again being threatened after decades of rebirth. Trends change so quickly now that I can’t possibly predict the outcome, but the truth is clear. Our Rust Belt cities are in trouble again, and this time, I can’t begin to predict the outcome.
Many years ago, I published by far and away my most read blog post, titled “The Big Urban Mistake: Building for Tourism vs. Livability.” The thrust was pointing out how cities should become places where it is easy and enjoyable to live again, and how this dynamic is far more sustainable than building urban attractions and casinos. When cities house people, employers will follow.
But remote work has disrupted this narrative and as a result, I believe cities need to find creative ways to build an attractive visitor and tourist experience once again. Not to say that we should stop creating residential experiences and urban neighborhoods in places that didn’t exist previously, but this transition alone may not be enough to sustain our urban cores. In fairness, I walked back my most read post in 2019 for slightly different reasons.
Cities rely on the spill-over effect. You live in the city, so you walk to the local festival, block party, or live music spot. If you work in the city, you stop at the coffee shop before your shift, hit up a local restaurant on lunch, or take a Pilates class on your way home. Cities are dependent on proximity and spontaneity, as people stumble upon an experience while stopping at the corner store near you, or run into a former co-worker who knows of a job opening as you ride the train to your job you currently hate. But most of all, their function is simply based on a large number of people coalescing in the same space… a dynamic that remote work has deeply challenged.
Cities aren’t about nice neat lines. They aren’t about the delineation between work and home that is so popularly embraced today. They are about feeling like you’re contributing to a much greater whole, a concept that is rarely appreciated in our predominantly suburban life. Sure, outlying areas provide land, quiet and nature (I would put into context this last point, as city living actually is less invasive to wildlife than suburban sprawl). And I would question the term “quiet” as my experience with suburban life is filled with the constant roar of lawn mowers, weed whackers and hedge trimmers. But humans are social creatures, made healthier by the social connections that cities naturally provide. Suicide rates are far lower in most cities, the idea being that people feel more a part of a social network than in lonely rural areas.
Sometimes I struggle to go into work in the morning when I know how many project managers like myself are comfortably starting their day from home. Sometimes I’d love not to commute and wear decent clothes. Sometimes I’d like to do laundry while working. But I also get to be part of a fantastic on-site team, where we laugh, lightly prank, and share stories from the weekend. It’s harder, but I’d like to think that it’s also very rewarding.
Cities aren’t easy. They take more energy. They force us to be exposed at times when we don’t always want to. But in the end, they also make us feel like we can do anything, change on a dime, meet someone while at the farmers market, or just walk and explore a new street.
Remote work has its perks. But our cities have suffered as a result. What will cities do to counter this dynamic? Reach out and share your thoughts at TheUrbanPhoenixBlog.com.