COVID-19 seemed to change everything about cities for a long time–how we worked, got around, shopped, communicated, and accomplished a long list of day-to-day activities. And as the world eases into a new normal, NBC News took a look at what may have changed for good, especially in cities:
- More people continue to work from home, either all or part of the time, even as companies begin calling employees back to the office.
- People who used to use transit to get to work aren’t doing that in great numbers yet, and even those who opted for trains and buses on the weekends don’t seem to be coming back quickly. New York Subway use is down 40 percent on weekends.
- Car sales, especially used car sales, are spiking, suggesting that people who used to get around in other ways are opting for single-occupant vehicles at least some of the time.
Other changes noted in other news outlets include a spike in micro-mobility use in cities, presumably for last-mile trips; bike- and scooter-shares are bulking up inventories and spreading to new-to-them neighborhoods.
Read the NBC News story here and let us know in the comments–how do things seem to have changed for the long term in your operation?