As we begin to ease out of pandemic restrictions, many urban planners have emphasized the importance of shifting completely back to the pre-pandemic lifestyle as opposed to transitioning into a ‘new normal’ as many have predicted might occur.
In Planning for Post-pandemic Downtowns of Mid-size Urban Areas, with research contributions from School of Planning professor Dr. Pierre Filion, it is evident that the Covid-19 Pandemic has had significant negative effects on cities and city life. Yet Filion says “The pandemic does not seem to have given rise to new downtown planning models despite the disproportionate extent to which these sectors were affected by Covid. Downtown's are likely to remain distinctive places within the cities, characterized by a mix of higher-density land uses, including specialized retail, of post-pandemic downtown's from the pre-pandemic downtown's of the early 21st century that would change the basic forms and functions”.
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