Superstar Cities Are in Trouble

We accept today that the days of startup cities, at least in the West, are over, but I don't think we should. And the societal changes that a post-COVID world makes possible could restart this cycle. For thousands of years, ambitious young people have had to move to big cities run by the kind of people who run big cities to maximize opportunity in ... See more

The same thing will now happen to cities. A lot of the old dimensions have become "good enough" — you can access a decent job, get Amazon deliveries, have your artisanal coffee, give your kids good education.... in so many different places, easily.

What's interesting in the current moment, with the internet truly giving talent a CHOICE, is that cities will become more important because — working from home makes it even more necessary and fun to live in a relatively dense area.

If office occupancy never recovers, downtown areas will experience an extended ice age. Emptier offices will mean fewer lunches at downtown restaurants, fewer happy hours, fewer window shoppers, fewer subway and bus trips, and less work for cleaning, security, and maintenance services. This means weaker downtown economies and less taxable income fo... See more

What we have learned — what we were forced to learn — during the COVID lockdowns has permanently shattered these assumptions. It turns out many of the best jobs really can be performed from anywhere, through screens and the internet. It turns out people really can live in a smaller city or a small town or in rural nowhere and still be just as produ... See more

Cities emerged to solve a set of problems that no longer exist. Physical goods are already made and traded elsewhere. Information and intellectual property can now be produced and exchanged online.

weaken the spatial relationship between work and home.