Week 2 of the Pragma Council Conference focuses on "Future Foundations: The Nature of Home".
The global pandemic of COVID-19 has introduced an unparalleled scope and depth of impact to our communities, arguably rocking their very foundations. Needed lockdowns closed schools, many work places and cornerstone institutions, crushed economic activity, and consequently traffic free streets and nearly empty transit systems became the norm across the world. Early speculations about the role of urban density in the pandemic, wrestling with the surge in bicycle sales, an apparent return of nature, and cities exploring the halting of transit systems are a few examples of the many early impacts.
Now a half year into the Canadian experience, there are deeper questions being explored. Prime among those questions is the likelihood of returning to “the way things were”. The nature of “home”, “work” and broadly “community” looks and feels very different today. Is this temporary and will communities chart a path back to the trends of activity and way of doing things pre-COVID? Or, as many have offered: “Today, we have an opportunity to reflect and reset how we live, interact and rebuild our cities" (António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations 2020).
This theme of the "new normal” will be central to a series of Pragma Debates this Fall. We will bring together experts with diverse perspectives and discuss the nature of work, home and community.
Please register for the event here.