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Cities are the engine room of modern economies. They are where we socialise, find entertainment, and find the most productive workers. Over recent decades, from the slums of the developing world, to the megacities of New York and London, it appeared that humanity would only become more urbanised.

Then, almost overnight, this all changed. Covid-19 has rapidly and dramatically changed the way humans live, work and socialise. Millions of people have started working from home, and are unlikely to return to city centres any time soon. Earlier this year many left major cities as restaurants and theatres shut and socialising was highly limited. Meanwhile, planning regulations have made it far too expensive for many to live in cities.

What looked inevitable — the unstoppable rise of the city — now looks brittle. How will the experience of this pandemic change cities? Has Covid proven cities unsustainable or will their intrinsic pull remain? Should we welcome more working from home or dread the loss of necessary in-person communication? Will people give up the social and entertainment benefits of cities for the countryside? How could this change our demand for infrastructure and transportation? Should we welcome a greater distribution of the economic talent to ‘level up’?

Panel:

Matthew Lesh is the Head of Research at the Adam Smith Institute (Host)

Rory Sutherland is the vice-chairman of Ogilvy and The Spectator's Wiki Man

Michael Hendrix is the director of state and local policy at the Manhattan Institute

Vera Kichanova is an urban policy analyst at Zaha Hadid Architects