Covid 19 - Lessons Learned and a Survival Kit for American Cities

Mere days after the coronavirus caused governments to impose stay-at-home orders, once-vibrant downtowns became desolate. As those orders have been lifted and many businesses have reopened, albeit with new social-distancing and public-safety protocols, cities face their greatest challenges — and opportunities — in recent decades.

Municipalities, business districts, and neighborhood groups are turning to architectural and urban designers, such as Kit Krankel McCullough, for help in reinvigorating urban spaces. A lecturer in the Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning, McCullough has designed and directed revitalization projects for cities as diverse as Washington, D.C., and La Grange, Georgia.

“In many ways, the coronavirus shutdown accelerated changes that were already under way in American cities,” says McCullough, who has a private consulting practice and teaches urban design, neighborhood development, transportation, and urban economics at Taubman.

During the spring peak of the virus crisis in April, for example, telecommuting and distance learning skyrocketed while traditional commuting plummeted. Many cities closed off streets to vehicles, allowing more space for residents to walk and bike. Home delivery of food and other items burgeoned. Downtown parking spots were redeployed as pickup and delivery zones.

The pandemic also brought unexpected benefits, such as a reduction in traffic deaths, rush-hour backups, and air pollution. Cities saw their cleanest air in decades. Yet McCullough and other urbanists are concerned about the long-term viability of American cities. She wonders whether hard-hit urban areas will experience a coronavirus-driven exodus reminiscent of white flight in the 1960s.

“Before the pandemic, downtowns were ascendant and growing, because people wanted to live, work, and play in densely populated urban spaces with lots of activities,” McCullough says. “If people no longer feel safe coming downtown and mingling with large crowds, I’m worried our cities will suffer.”

What American cities need now more than ever, she says, is a survival kit to repair the damage wrought by the pandemic and to speed the recovery process.

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