Long-term Remote Work May Affect Future Urban Development
Before the outbreak of COVID-19, the costs of living in super cities included high costs, pollution and lack of space, but the increase in remote work may reverse the trend, making urban centers less dense and cheaper to live and work. Bloom, a professor of economics at Stanford University, said that 42% of U.S. workers in the epidemic worked full-time from home. With the development of remote work, the job market will become more fragmented and urban centers will grow more slowly, eliminating some of the benefits and extreme costs of living generated by super cities over the past few decades. Nearly 70% of chief executives expect to reduce office space, according to a June survey by consulting firm KPMG. FACEBOOK CEO Mark Zuckerberg, for example, told employees in May that half of the company's employees are expected to achieve remote work within 10 years. He said Facebook will start recruiting experienced engineers as remote workers who only need to live in an area within four hours of the office. In addition, the company will also establish new centers in Atlanta, Dallas and Denver. Staying away from super cities can effectively reduce the huge cost of enterprises' expenses in the office, release funds to places more in line with the development needs of enterprises, realize a virtuous circle of enterprise development, and drive the development of various local industries. For individuals, such a change would mean lower living costs, bigger houses and less commuting time, which would contribute to a greater sense of personal well-being at work and in life. There are already a lot of people moving out of high-cost cities like New York, and there has been significant population growth in the surrounding cities, said Ms. Hera, a demographer at The American University. From the perspective of urban development, this is conducive to relieving various pressures in the infinite expansion of super cities, and it can also drive the development of its surrounding cities and narrow the gap of urban development at the same time. In the long run, it may have an impact on the future urban development pattern and promote another suburbanization.