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Critical Commentary: Cities in a post-COVID world

Author

Listed:
  • Richard Florida

    (University of Toronto, Canada)

  • Andrés Rodríguez-Pose

    (London School of Economics, UK)

  • Michael Storper

    (London School of Economics, UK
    UCLA, USA)

Abstract

This paper examines the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic and its related economic, fiscal, social and political fallout on cities and metropolitan regions. We assess the effect of the pandemic on urban economic geography at the intra- and inter-regional geographic scales in the context of four main forces: the social scarring instilled by the pandemic; the lockdown as a forced experiment; the need to secure the urban built environment against future risks; and changes in the urban form and system. At the macrogeographic scale, we argue the pandemic is unlikely to significantly alter the winner-take-all economic geography and spatial inequality of the global city system. At the microgeographic scale, however, we suggest that it may bring about a series of short-term and some longer-running social changes in the structure and morphology of cities, suburbs and metropolitan regions. The durability and extent of these changes will depend on the timeline and length of the pandemic.

Suggested Citation

  • Richard Florida & Andrés Rodríguez-Pose & Michael Storper, 2023. "Critical Commentary: Cities in a post-COVID world," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 60(8), pages 1509-1531, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:urbstu:v:60:y:2023:i:8:p:1509-1531
    DOI: 10.1177/00420980211018072
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Andrés Rodríguez‐Pose & Chiara Burlina, 2021. "Institutions and the uneven geography of the first wave of the COVID‐19 pandemic," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 61(4), pages 728-752, September.
    2. Michael Storper & Anthony J. Venables, 2004. "Buzz: face-to-face contact and the urban economy," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 4(4), pages 351-370, August.
    3. Andrés Rodríguez-Pose & Michael Storper, 2020. "Housing, urban growth and inequalities: The limits to deregulation and upzoning in reducing economic and spatial inequality," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 57(2), pages 223-248, February.
    4. Edward E Leamer & Michael Storper, 2001. "The Economic Geography of the Internet Age," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 32(4), pages 641-665, December.
    5. Shima Hamidi & Sadegh Sabouri & Reid Ewing, 2020. "Does Density Aggravate the COVID-19 Pandemic?," Journal of the American Planning Association, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 86(4), pages 495-509, October.
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    Cited by:

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    2. Anik, Md Asif Hasan & Khan, Nazmul Arefin & Habib, Muhammad Ahsanul, 2024. "Mapping the interplay of work-arrangement, residential location, and activity engagement within an integrated model," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 190(C).
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    4. Hung-Ying Chen & Colin McFarlane & Priyam Tripathy, 2024. "Density and pandemic urbanism: Exposure and networked density in Manila and Taipei," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 61(8), pages 1526-1544, June.

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