Death of the downtown: How cities can rebuild using 'tactical urbanism'

Source: Smart Cities Dive Published: October 20th, 2020

Cities are either on the brink of disaster, or they will recover just fine in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Both are predictions that urban planners, developers and academics have tossed around when assessing a post-pandemic future, but the question remains: What will happen to cities as we know them today?

While it is likely that most cities will "bounce back" from the crisis, many experts agree that when this modern rebirth occurs, cities will look different than they did pre-pandemic — particularly in their downtown regions. 

Kevin Gillen, senior research fellow with the Lindy Institute for Urban Innovation at Drexel University, said "there’s no reason to think that the current pandemic will kill cities." History suggests most cities can rebound from disaster, Gillen said, pointing to Rome, London and Athens as major cities that have faced and recovered from "devastating plagues, wars or natural disasters."

Still, to avoid a catastrophic scenario, cities' futures are hinging on smart decisions, access to funding and an open mindedness to different models of planning and operations.

"We have a saying: Cities don’t die of natural causes, nor are they murdered," Gillen said. "They commit suicide."

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Photo by Muzammil Soorma on Unsplash