Pandemic won’t alter urban planning

Although the Covid pandemic has sapped life from urban cores, city planners say they won’t change their approach to planning for these vital centers, according to researchers at the University of Waterloo in Canada. City living has been radically changed by the pandemic, but planners surveyed by the university expect a return to the “old normal.”

“Despite calls for greater creativity and innovation, there is essentially no difference between what planners viewed as more important to downtowns pre-and-post the pandemic,” said Pierre Filion, an emeritus professor in the School of Planning at Waterloo. “There will not be any radical transformation of post-pandemic downtowns from the pre-pandemic downtowns of the early 21st century that would change the basic forms and functions.”

Pre-pandemic trends, including increased use of outdoor and green spaces, more mixed-use development—particularly in residential areas—and transportation models friendly to walking and biking, will continue, the survey found. Many proposed recovery policies require government intervention, especially in public-private partnerships and collaborations where no single organizational structure is appropriate, researchers say.