Since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, there has been shortage of opinions on the coming evolution of cities. It’s time to check in with the debate.

“It takes a lot to kill a city,” says Mary Rowe, president and CEO of the Canadian Urban Institute, at the beginning of a recent Vox article that provides a roundtable discussion of experts on cities. The premise of the discussion: What is the future of cities, cutting through the culture war talking points and political propaganda that has dominated the discussion as the country emerges in fits and starts from the Covid-19 pandemic.
Here are the other experts cited in the article:
- Mary Rowe – “president and CEO of the Canadian Urban Institute”
- Richard Florida – “an urbanist and professor at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management”
- Nicholas Bloom – “a Stanford economics professor who studies remote work”
- Emily Talen – “a professor of urbanism at the University of Chicago”
- Connor O’Brien – “Economic Innovation Group research associate”
- Ellen Dunham-Jones – “a professor and director of the urban design program at Georgia Tech’s architecture school”
- Esteban Rossi-Hansberg – “a professor in the University of Chicago’s economics department”
- Matthew Kahn – “an economics professor at the University of Southern California”
- Dror Poleg – “economic historian”
- Kenan Fikri – “research director at Economic Innovation Group”
- Arpit Gupta – “an associate professor of finance at NYU Stern”
For those keeping track at home, here are the number of times the article, between author and experts, mentions the following terms:
Climate: 3
Car(s): 1
Density: 1
Housing: 11
Transit: 5
Remote Work: 14
Covid: 2
Public Health: 0
Zoning: 1
Crime: 2
Pollution: 0
Air: 0
Water: 1
“Big cities — think New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago — will ultimately be okay, since a lot of what made them attractive in the first place is still there and impossible to find elsewhere. But that doesn’t mean they will — or can — stay the same,” writes post author Rani Molla to summarize the discussion.
“And while the move away from cities is overstated, even small shifts from powerhouses like NYC could represent windfalls for the suburbs, exurbs, and other cities those people choose to move to. That means smaller cities — like Cincinnati or Tulsa or Indianapolis — have a big opportunity to position themselves as destinations for those who do leave big cities, even as the largest urban areas are far from dying,” adds Rowe.
FULL STORY: The future of cities, according to the experts

Study: Maui’s Plan to Convert Vacation Rentals to Long-Term Housing Could Cause Nearly $1 Billion Economic Loss
The plan would reduce visitor accommodation by 25,% resulting in 1,900 jobs lost.

Placekeeping: Setting a New Precedent for City Planners
How a preservation-based approach to redevelopment and urban design can prevent displacement and honor legacy communities.

Using Old Oil and Gas Wells for Green Energy Storage
Penn State researchers have found that repurposing abandoned oil and gas wells for geothermal-assisted compressed-air energy storage can boost efficiency, reduce environmental risks, and support clean energy and job transitions.

Washington State Plans Ambitious ‘Cycle Highway’ Network
The state is directing funding to close gaps in its existing bike network and make long-distance trips more accessible.

Homeowners Blame PG&E for Delays in ADU Permits
The utility says it has dramatically reduced its backlog, but applicants say they still face months-long delays for approvals for new electrical work.

Rethinking Wildfire Defense: How a Landscape Approach Can Protect Neighborhoods
Post-fire analysis of the Eaton Fire reveals that a landscape approach — including fire-resistant vegetation, home hardening, and strategic planning — can help reduce wildfire risk, challenging assumptions that trees and plants are primary fire hazards.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Borough of Carlisle
Caltrans
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Salt Lake City
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service
City of Cambridge, Maryland