Quote:
Originally Posted by the urban politician
^ There is no doubt that the city will have to adapt.
Where I take issue is with this ill-conceived effort by some to take this predicament and try to convince everyone that it was a good thing all along.
No it wasn't.
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I don't think anyone knows yet. 70% of people could say they want full remote now, but maybe after a few years discover they've become boring people, want to digitally disconnect and create a better division between home and work life.
Technology has made us more connected and efficient, but I don't think it makes us emotionally or physically better off. Companies can make some false promises and just because you can work anywhere, at any time...as long as you get your work done doesn't always guarantee you won't feel invisible pressures to perform.
As others pointed out, employees won this round making remote work normal when it was once unimaginable in some places and a positive side effect was some major reductions on spending and more saving . Now that it's commonplace, let's see if 100% remote may be an over-correction. I believe the hiring dilemma explained by marothisu is true, perhaps more-so in his industry, but I'm convinced a hybrid model will gain common acceptance, and perhaps those that declined the offers may find initial opportunities plentiful, but potentially not long lasting.
I'm sorry for going beyond the urban planning dilemmas. Yeah it's bad, because adjustments work better when they happen over longer periods of time, not in haste during a pandemic. Some loop spots may be difficult to adapt -ground floors of office buildings that seem programmatically hardwired for banking or lunch restaurants, which will now be less attractive to rent. This is why River North and the West Loop are excellent models because of their mixed use nature and presence of finer grain architecture.
I'm curious how remote work will impact mobility and city services. Will public transportation deteriorate? Will leisure travel no longer be subsidized by business travel? Will tax burdens shift to residential areas from commercial real estate?
Finally, I'm happy to be in Chicago. I think we have the right formula for a healthy downtown in the future. Imagine if our downtown was less interesting or was a homogenous collection of faceless office towers and parking decks surrounded by interchanges. That's a reality in many major American cities.