How Covid-19 can make our cities safer, more resilient and vibrant

COMMENT As we encounter more mini-lockdowns this winter, it is clear the impact of Covid-19, Brexit, and climate change are going to change many aspects of our life in UK cities, on top of the impact of digital disruption. If we get it wrong, we face the spectres of mass unemployment, hollowed-out town centres and high streets, and ongoing economic decline which will impact on real estate both in terms of prices and the viability of doing business. However, if we get it right, and see these challenges as an opportunity to adapt as a nation, we might just emerge into a new normal that is more resilient, more culturally balanced around the country and, frankly, more interesting for urban employees, visitors, and residents. There will be ups and downs, but we are already seeing early signs of how our cities can rise again: whether in places such as Bristol, where its Housing Festival has shone a light on how modular builders such as ZedPods can work with an enlightened mayor and council to start to create affordable housing on top of car parks; or in Walsall in the Midlands, where a movement has begun to re-evaluate the role of the town centre to be more of a blend between digital and physical through projects such as Walsall in Minecraft. And there are many others in London and in places like Watford, where people are taking a new approach as a result of increased homeworking, reduced commuting and more blended “phygital” lifestyles. Recipe for success So what are the ingredients to make our cities safer, more resilient and more vibrant moving forwards? The first is simply that of identity. Pre-crisis, places were already rediscovering their histories, what they are good at, where they are quirky, and what in particular attracts younger workers and residents. Over the past 10 years I have witnessed a quiet resurgence in pride over the places people come from, which can manifest itself in festivals, in interesting meanwhile and longer-term projects, and ultimately in towns and cities becoming magnets for talent, investment and creative culture. Ambitious thinking We also need imagination. A lot of work is needed to reinvent urban centres as places for trainees to be apprenticed and mentored in (hard to do early on in your career remotely). We will need to convert spare office and post-industrial space for co-living and co-working, but use smart technologies to make them Covid-19 safe (lots of copper, automated UV lighting, smart ventilation systems, lower rise), and create outdoor meeting spaces and pods that people can book for meetings and hybrid Zoom calls. We will need to ensure quality childcare (including parent-run co-op style creches) is in or near our workplaces, so workers can operate flexibly. We will need to rethink retail (turnover-based rent and rates must be part of the solution here) and blend it more with online and offline experiences to give people reasons to visit our centres and keep coming back not just to shop, but to have fun, socialise, and get out of the house. The co-working office will need to feel more like a club house/gym/mini-maker-automated factory that you can drop into and meet people in. And lots of outdoor covered greenery, bookable gardens for flat-dwellers, nurseries as restaurants, greenhouses in the high street – in part so we can stay sane. Transport needs to be more about moving goods than people. All-inclusive communities Finally, we are going to need inclusion. The kind that ensures working class communities have a role to play in urban transformation, a group too often ignored or overlooked and now really suffering as their jobs decline along with traditional retail and hospitality. And the young who will be hit hardest. And women (how about making the City the most mum-friendly place on Earth?). And all of us. The right kind of leadership, processes, and cultural glue from meanwhile and festival-type activity online and offline has the potential to bring together all kinds of people, to think about the future of their town, of work itself, and how we can adapt to our new reality. Those of us in real estate can help facilitate all of the above. By allowing innovation to come in and create what I call the liquid city, until (if we ever) we can figure out more permanent solutions. By influencing the powers that be to adapt policy and let go more so local people can have more say and try out new approaches. By not hoping that things will go back to the old normal, but by making some small bets to create more adaptive, flexible buildings whether homes or workplaces. Lord Wei of Shoreditch is a real estate investor, meanwhile entrepreneur, and adviser to mayors. Find out more about his work and that of his associates at Spacemakers.consulting This and much more will be featured in our upcoming issue of UK Cities, out 31 October Picture © Adam Vaughan/Shutterstock