Alex Diggins is a writer journalist based in Oxford. He writes regularly for leading publications including The Economist, Wired, New Scientist, The Telegraph and The TLS. He is also published in Rife: Twenty-One Stories from Britain's Youth (Unbound). @AHABDiggins

Diseases can shape cities just as much as immigration or industry. London’s Embankment, for instance, was a Victorian innovation designed to disguise a state-of-the-art sewage system built to replace the city’s festering open drains after repeated cholera outbreaks. New York’s skyline, meanwhile, was partially constructed to mitigate the spread of airborne tuberculosis through internal air shafts and large, central squares. In 2020, as countries steadily emerge from lockdown and grapple with how to thaw out finances, the COVID-19 pandemic may present a similar opportunity to reimagine urban societies, potentially making them greener, more sustainable, and fairer for all.

“It is sometimes difficult to imagine how things can be different until you see them change,” says Alex Hollingsworth, an Oxford City Councillor. “The lockdown has helped demonstrate that there is a different way of our streets being used – a better way.” 

 Many people seem to agree, with a study commissioned by the RSA finding that only 9% of Britons want a complete return to ‘normal’ post-pandemic. Over half of those surveyed said they had noticed cleaner air during lockdown, while 42% valued food more, and 40% felt a stronger sense of community. 

 These perceptions are particularly strong in cities. Social platforms have been abuzz with feel-good examples of local activism and engagement. As highlighted by the Italian opera singers who serenaded their neighbours on balconies, the Mumbaikars who banged pots and pans in support of healthcare workers, and Americans who howled daily at sunset, physical separation does not mean social isolation. “The vast majority of people who live in cities feel they live in a village within their few streets,” says Hollingsworth. “Community links have proved crucial.” 

There are promising signs that COVID-19 is having a pro-social and pro-environmental effect. From Bogota to Berlin, city authorities are implementing temporary measures to boost active travel, promote social distancing, and ensure they are not swamped by pollution from private cars. Milan has added 22 miles of cycle lanes and increased pavement space so pedestrians can safely shop and visit outdoor cafés. 

 In the UK, the government has announced a £2 billion package aimed at boosting walking and cycling, promoting electric vehicles, and increasing bike and e-scooter hire schemes. 

 According to Juliet Davenport, the CEO of the Good Energy Company, the pandemic has led to greater recognition that environmental and health policies are connected. “It’s all interlinked,” she says. “There must be no backwards step – we need to be strict with ourselves as a society.” 

 So, how exactly can cities be adjusted post-pandemic to address underlying systemic problems?

Interconnected hubs like London, New York, and Hong Kong have been worryingly effective vectors for the virus and have borne the brunt of its impacts. But while COVID-19 might have temporarily slowed immigration to these cities, evidence from past epidemics indicates that it will surge again once the outbreak passes. 

 In the aftermath, sustainable urbanisation – a concept flagged up by the UN in 2018 when it predicted that 68% of the global population would live in urban areas by 2050 – may become more of a priority for local and national authorities. 

 After all, an analysis of COVID-19 deaths in Italy, Spain, France, and Germany revealed that 78% occurred in the five administrative regions with the highest levels of air pollution. 

 Additionally, a Harvard University study covering 98% of the American population found that a small rise in fine particle pollution over the two previous decades was linked to a 15% rise in the COVID-19 death rate. 

During lockdown, pollution has fallen precipitously as vehicles idle on driveways and travel restrictions have reduced the number of flights globally. Skies are clearer, roads quieter, and birdsong is as likely to wake you as an alarm clock. In Oxford city centre, the Council reported a 59% reduction in levels of toxic NOx compared to pre-lockdown levels, representing “the cleanest city centre air in several generations, and perhaps not previously seen since the days of the horse and cart.” 

 This is significant given the link between coronavirus and pollution, and may magnify many urbanites’ concerns about their environment. “Clean air will be a massive driver,” says Davenport. “Cleaning up the air in our cities and reducing the potential for transferring the virus will be a core part of what governments try to put first.” 

Air pollution is not the only sustainability-related challenge that needs to be addressed as cities recover. COVID-19 has thrown into relief how interdependent and fragile global networks of medicine, food, and trade are. Many governments see increased localism and resilience as key to not only managing this pandemic, but also tackling future crises. “The main lesson we can take [from the pandemic] is that preventive action is very important,” says climate activist Sophia Kianni. “We need to apply the same logic to the climate crisis – the sooner we act, the less destructive the long-term impacts will be.” 

A decline in activity has made the pollution problem more visible

COVID-19 has revealed and exasperated latent inequalities. Countries with strong welfare systems and relatively low levels of income disparity, such as Norway, Iceland, and Denmark, have handled the crisis well, reporting fewer cases and deaths than nations with similar populations and wealth. The US, by contrast, where income inequality is considerably greater, has the highest number of deaths and infections in the world. 

 According to an analysis conducted by professors Harold Clarke and Paul Whiteley, the Gini inequality index – a measure of income disparity – has almost as big an impact on COVID-19 fatalities as population density and size. 

 Meanwhile, figures from the Office for National Statistics suggest that people living in the poorest parts of England and Wales were twice as likely to die from the disease – the most deprived areas had 55.1 deaths per 100,000 at the start of May, compared to a rate of just 25.3 per 100,00 in the least deprived areas. 

Sustainable initiatives can also be unequal. At the most extreme end of the scale, Silicon Valley billionaire Peter Thiel previously bought up real estate in New Zealand to supposedly construct a bespoke, self-sufficient doomsday bunker. 

 Writing about a tabletop game in which players aim to prosper in the wake of an apocalypse by acquiring remote land and resource rights, effectively creating a corporate colony (a fictional reflection of Thiel’s plans), journalist Mark O’Connell notes that this idea represents “an apocalyptic logic of progress: a movement away from the nation state, away from democracy, and finally away from the ravaged earth itself.” 

 As he suggests, those HNWIs who can afford to are moving themselves away from the problem, rather than doubling down on finding solutions.

Other, smaller schemes may also struggle to be fully inclusive. Danish architecture firm 

 – eco-developments powered by solar and biogas energy, where inhabitants can grow organic food, keep livestock, and recycle water. A similarly ambitious scheme was launched in 2019 by the city of Tulsa, Oklahoma. Called 

, it promises a $10,000 grant, co-working space, and a green, city-centre apartment to white-collar workers willing to relocate. Both projects, however, are expensive, exclusive, and do nothing to address the insecurities of those in the low-paid gig economy, many of whom have emerged as ‘key workers’ during the pandemic.

COVID-19 has shone a light on the side-effects of deep economic divides

With research commissioned by crowd-funding platform WhatWeWant finding that 53% of Britons feel their community has been brought closer together by COVID-19, it’s clear that interactions – especially with trusted networks, like family and friends – have taken on a renewed resonance. 

 The pandemic has shown the profound benefits of active citizenship. “Big national efforts might disappear quite quickly,” says Will Butler-Adams, the managing director of Brompton Bikes, “but on a smaller scale, they will have a lasting impact. People now know the others in their communities – that’s a really positive thing to have out of this.” He points out that many citizens might be suspicious of central governments, especially if their policies (or oversights) have been seen to allow large numbers of avoidable deaths. By contrast, he argues that the local bonds forged during adversity will last as “the fear isn’t going to go away in a few months.” 

Aided by apps and social networks, community schemes and mutual aid groups have proliferated during the crisis. This has been especially marked in cities, where the idea of knowing your neighbour – let alone helping them with the groceries – would once have been alien. “City residents are becoming aware of desires that they didn’t realise they had before, which is for more human contact, for links to people who are unlike themselves,” said Richard Sennett, a senior advisor to the UN on climate change and cities, to 

, suggests that although mutual aid groups are formed in response to adversity, their impacts can endure long after the immediate threat has lifted. “There are those who will want to return to normal after this crisis,” she writes, “and there are those who will decide that what was regarded as normal before was itself the crisis.” 

The pandemic has accelerated a generational shift in attitudes to communal action. In 2017, 68% of Gen Yers reported that creating positive change in the world was a personal goal. 

 The worldwide School Strikes for Climate movement indicates that many are willing to put that ambition into practice. Cities are likely to succeed in rebuilding in a greener, fairer way if they allow that ground-up passion to flourish. Extinction Rebellion draws on the history of nonviolent civil protest to argue that only 3% of a population needs to mobilise to put sufficient pressure on governments to act, and the pandemic has shown what communities are capable of. “Every single person has their own network that connects us to millions,” says Kianni. “We’ve seen we are able to mobilise a large amount of public support.” 

People may be isolated, but they’re feeling a stronger sense of connection

There is ample opportunity for companies to be involved in the reshaping of cities. For instance, subscription models for bikes, e-bikes, and e-scooters are likely to boom as they help drive down the upfront cost of these products and encourage more users, thereby democratising sustainable transport. “Currently, the financial barriers to ownership are too high,” says Butler-Adams. “You don’t go to the gym and drop £600 upfront. We live in a society now where people expect to pay for what they use.” 

 Sponsorship of active travel infrastructure is another potential area of interest. There is a precedence here with Google’s sponsorship of Oyster card touchpoints on London’s train and bus network, and as the post-pandemic downturn bites, many authorities will no doubt be looking for creative ways to fund their transformation plans.

As well as demonstrating an appetite for civic togetherness, the pandemic has highlighted that many people favour localism and strong community ties. “The pandemic has shown that bottom-up, grassroots initiatives can deliver better than centralised approaches,” says Hollingsworth. 

 Brands can tap into these desires in creative ways. For example, in 2018, Dominoes filled potholes in Bartonville, Texas, as part of a tongue-in-cheek stunt to protect its precious pizza deliveries, helping the town’s residents in the process. 

 And in 2019, Decathlon launched a sports ‘ecosystem’ alongside fitness providers, experts, and brands to encourage people to try out new activities and promote healthier lifestyles. 

The post-pandemic world may open up diverse possibilities for reimagining civic spaces. With fewer vehicles on roads and social distancing requiring more pedestrian space, cities will feel more expansive and pleasant to navigate. Planners might take a leaf of Utrecht’s book and install greenery and solar panels on rooftops, weaving the natural world into the urban. “Cities will be cleaner, more intimate places to be,” predicts Hollingsworth. 

 At the same time, the aftermath of COVID-19 is likely to accelerate the decline of high street businesses – some projections suggest that 75% of ‘Main Street’ companies in the US will not survive the crisis. 

 This means that “city centres will be even more about leisure and less about retail than they were before,” Hollingsworth adds. 

 This shift could create space for innovative customer experiences to flourish, offering more immersive – but socially distanced – retail and entertainment.

Alex Hollingsworth is an Oxford City Councillor, leading on planning and transport.

Juliet Davenport OBE is the CEO of Good Energy, a 100% renewable energy company.

Sophia Kianni represents the US as the youngest member on the United Nations Youth Advisory Group on Climate Change. She is an undergraduate student at Stanford University, and the founder and executive director of Climate Cardinals, a nonprofit with 8,000 volunteers in 40+ countries working to translate climate information into 100 languages. She is also a senior partner at JUV Consulting, a Gen Z marketing agency. Sophia’s work has been covered by Forbes, CNN, 

. She has been named VICE Media's youngest Human of the Year and one of Teen Vogue's 21 under 21.

Will Butler-Adams OBE is the managing director of Brompton Bikes.

Global

Citizenship

Getting Around

Interview with Alex Hollingsworth conducted by the author

'Brits see cleaner air, stronger social bonds and changing food habits amid lockdown', RSA

''Cleaner and greener': Covid-19 prompts world's cities to free public space of cars', The Guardian

'£2 billion package to create new era for cycling and walking', GOV.uk

Interview with Juliet Davenport conducted by the author

'Covid-19 might not change cities as much as previous pandemics', The Economist

'68% of the world population projected to live in urban areas by 2050, says UN', United Nations

'Air pollution may be ‘key contributor’ to Covid-19 deaths – study', The Guardian

'Air pollution linked to far higher Covid-19 death rates, study finds', The Guardian

'City Council to explore once in a generation improvements to city centre beyond the coronavirus pandemic', Oxford City Council

Interview with Sophia Kianni conducted by the author

'COVID-19 Dashboard by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University

'Economic inequality can help predict COVID-19 deaths in the US', LSE

'Coronavirus death rates twice as high in UK’s poorest areas as in richest, stark new data shows', Politics Home

'Peter Thiel’s New Zealand estate lies neglected as coronavirus drives preppers into hiding', CNBC

'Notes from an Apocalypse: A Personal Journey to the End of the World and Back', Mark O’Connell

'Brits feel communities have become closer since Covid-19 outbreak', Morning Star

Interview with Will Butler-Adams conducted by the author

'Cities after coronavirus: how Covid-19 could radically alter urban life', The Guardian

'What mutual aid can do during a pandemic', The New Yorker

'As Millennials demand more meaning, older brands are not aging well', Fast Company

'Domino's branded potholes appear after pizza company takes to road repair', The Guardian

'Decathlon creates sports platform to connect customers, brands, fitness providers and experts in a ‘sport ecosystem’', Internet Retailing

'How our cities can reopen after the COVID-19 pandemic', Brookings

The COVID-19 pandemic has upheaved societies around the world – perhaps permanently. There’s an acknowledgement that everyday life will have to change post-lockdown to avoid further outbreaks, but could this transition also present a chance to usher in a fairer, greener, and less lonely future?

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Venn: community living for rent-first urbanites

Why are Gen Yers choosing to leave London?

How has suburban America changed?