News and Insights

Future Cities: 20 Reflections on the Post-Pandemic Reawakening of our Cities and Neighborhoods

July 28, 2020

Thanks to an extensive network of industry thought leaders, global architecture and design firms housed within our lifestyle portfolio, we’re well-acquainted with the movements and mavericks defining the world of design.

COVID-19 has inexorably changed the way we view density and urbanization. In our latest trend report, we pose a single question to 20 architects and designers, urban planners and thinkers based in various cities, from Hong Kong and New York to London, Singapore and Shanghai: What are architects, urban planners, developers and governments now thinking about as they envision our future cities and the viability of our neighborhoods and communities in a post-pandemic world?

In probing what the future of our cities ought to look like—in a world now redefined by a pandemic, economic recession and widespread social unrest—reassessing the present state of society is essential. Equally crucial are the steps we will take in our different community roles to ensure that we are entering a world that is not simply changed, but drastically improved; a world that is progressive in how it views design, sustainability and socioeconomic inequality.

COVID-19 was the disruption no one saw coming. Millions around the world are in a state of limbo or working to recoup losses. But as unknowable as it may be, there is much ado about the future. All there is to do, after all, is to look forward.