US mayors predict permanent shifts in post-COVID cities

Source: Cities Today Published: December 7th, 2020

According to a new survey, 90 percent of US mayors believe the shift to remote working will persist even after a COVID-19 vaccine is available, and 60 percent expect a permanent reduction in in-person retail shopping.

With this in mind, 60 percent agreed that downtown office buildings will become less desirable and 40 percent are expecting less mass transit use in the future, this year’s Menino Survey of Mayors from the Boston University Initiative on Cities finds.

Over half of mayors expect a long-term decline in residents attending large public events like sports and concerts.

On a more positive note, large majorities expect more walking, cycling and time spent in parks after COVID-19 than before. Forty percent predict the same amount of transit ridership as pre-pandemic levels, and 20 percent expect to see greater usage.

Further, contrary to some predictions, most mayors don’t expect the pandemic to increase driving in the long-term. A majority predict the same amount of driving after COVID-19 as before, with the rest split between more and less personal vehicle use.

The survey gathered responses from 130 mayors in cities with populations over 75,000.

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Photo by Adrian Schwarz on Unsplash