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Counterpoint: The upside of downtown decline
Our neighborhoods are thriving, and new connections are being made.
By Michael Bjornberg
January 9, 2024 at 11:30PM
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As we consider how to bring people back to metropolitan downtowns to help revitalize them, might we also consider the positive impact work-from-home (WFH) has had on local neighborhood businesses and small towns?
Yes, downtowns have lost business due to changing work schedules and patterns. But when I go to my local coffee shops, cafes and restaurants — I see businesses buzzing with activity. I see neighbors reconnecting with each other. Is this not a positive impact on the quality of life in the neighborhoods where we live?
Studies have found that WFH reduces crime rates in the neighborhoods due to pedestrian activity and more eyes on the street. England and Wales experienced a 30% drop in crime (particularly burglaries) with WFH lockdown. When the lockdown was lifted crime returned to pre-COVID levels.
Data and surveys show working remotely increases productivity but can lead to isolation and stress due to the lack of serendipitous encounters with co-workers. But do we then seek out serendipitous encounters with our neighbors and others with whom we might not typically interact?
We fear that WFH could lead to the death the big cities, but they have shown remarkable resilience through prior pandemics, economic downturns and suburban flights. They will survive as before by adapting and reshaping services.
We cannot all work in major downtowns with a plethora of restaurants, coffee shops and services, but perhaps this may be a natural way to spread economic benefits of a new economy to a wider geographic area and increase the health of neighborhoods.
Half of American workers are employed by small businesses. COVID hit the small-business sector harder than large businesses due to a lack of a robust infrastructure to support working remotely. But working from home (or the neighborhood) provides a cheaper way to start a company. Let's support entrepreneurial energy locally that may grow to one day occupy a larger footprint in a downtown.
When I worked Monday-Friday downtown I rarely frequented my neighborhood's cafes; I rarely interacted with my neighbors. That has changed. I now recognize and engage more with people I live near. With WFH, more people can work near where they live and simplify life a bit.
Approximately 58% of people in the U.S. cannot work from home at all due to the nature of their jobs — front-line workers and service providers, often with lower pay. Meanwhile, higher-paid professionals can work from home — potentially bringing more disposable income back to the neighborhood shops and cafes.
If we do spend more time closer to home there can be environmental and health benefits (less automobile pollution, more exercise). Working from home may mean young adults won't need to leave their hometowns to find a job and build a career in the big city but will be able to work at a profession in their hometowns and support them.
Given the ability of some to work from home and others not, I would offer that the future presents not a choice of one or the other but both — working from home and in the office, engaging with your neighborhood and the attractions of downtown, serendipitous meetings with neighbors and co-workers alike.
Michael Bjornberg, of Minneapolis, is an architect.
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Michael Bjornberg
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