Norman Foster on the Future of Cities in Pandemics - 'On Cities' Masterclass Series

the city is probably the oldest and most enduring invention of our civilization the words are interchangeable civil civilization civic city

cities

evolve over time they respond to crises and historically emerge from crises stronger than ever so what are the

future

trends for

cities

and what the history lessons are I am

norman

foster

I am an architect by training but an urbanist in terms of mental attitude a passionate interest in cities that has informed me as a designer since my student days so perhaps it is not surprising that I am asked In the midst of a global pandemic that has brought the economy to its knees, what do I think about the

future

of cities?

Well, history tells me that crises, whether

pandemics

, plagues, earthquakes, fires, floods, the city, without exception, always recovers stronger and better if we take, for example, London in the mid-19th century. A cholera epidemic that wiped out a large proportion of the population. The response was an initiative that created modern sanitation. He cleared the Thames of an open sewer. He combined it with new civic boulevards and underground embankments. transportation holistic thinking planning for the future creating a system that at the time was twice as large as necessary similarly in New York a cholera epidemic 1831 half the population fled up the Hudson River leaving the city shortly Some time later we saw the creation of the central park that has endured and was again planned for a future that would be many times larger than at that time the emerald necklace of Boston in a way perhaps the birth of modern architecture tuberculosis created a sanatorium with open terraces with large sliding windows to bring in nature and vegetation to create a healthier, whiter and cleaner environment, but all that and cities learn from each other, exchange ideas, collaborate, so all these things, sanitation modern, modern architectures, we know, they would all have happened anyway, so what was the effect of the crisis, the pandemic, was going to be magnified to accelerate trends that were already evident.

Perhaps the only change we can see now is the mental attitude. In the past there was public resistance to change in the environment. The environment was the subject of long debates, but we can already see that cities are changing outdoor spaces normally occupied by cars and dedicating open spaces for the public to terraces, creating an opportunity for civic leaders to convert this change of mentality into an advantage for citizens for civic benefit, what are those trends? Well, perhaps the obvious trend itself. is that the city is a powerful social and economic magnet people like to be together the city offers more opportunities creates wealth look at the number of patents filed as a barometer economic prosperity the gdp of some cities is many times greater than that of a new nation york The GDP is four times that of Switzerland, so the power of the city, the future of humanity is not two meters away and, in a way, changes in the workplace, the place of work is like this city in a microcosm, changes in the way we shop and move.

How are these trends going to manifest themselves in cities after the pandemic? People will obviously continue to work more at home. Technology has proven it, but that trend was not new. The type of spaces in which people want to gather has been magnified. much more social it will be much more about the creative sense of community again the city in a microcosm some of the spaces that we and my colleagues have created for ourselves in the creative industries have rubbed off on corporate clients like apple Bloomberg sky comcast and that's why we 'We have seen a greater desire to have more variety of spaces, taller spaces, healthier, naturally ventilated, cooler spaces, and scientific studies have shown that they not only create a healthier workplace but much higher performance and a higher level of satisfaction, so some of these types of spaces are now much more in demand, we began to see that before the pandemic the pandemic was accelerating and the way we buy online has discouraged us again, people have become We have been forced in many circumstances to stay at home, but once those restrictions are lifted, we have also seen the power of the store, even taking into account the decline of certain types of buildings, such as department stores, which offer the opportunity to recycle in terms of a more interesting workspace.

A change perhaps in the global economy towards a more balanced economy between what the global can offer and what it can offer. what local can offer, so a shift towards more specialized bakeries and breweries where you can see the process happening as part of the shopping and mobility experience, and the move from propulsion from polluting fossil fuels to cleaner electric energy and silent, a younger generation that is much less interested in property. much more appetite for ride sharing for an on-demand service and air mobility, we are already on the cusp of that, so the mobility of the movement of people, goods and information will be magnified and all this aware of the critical importance of climate change of decarbonization, so that whole aspect of sustainability is really woven into these trends, so how is that going to start to impact our cities?

I think there will be a greater acceptance of the more compact and dense city where you can get around as a pedestrian or on a bicycle, you don't have to get in a car to travel a distance to find a place to buy another long trip to school or work and Density should not be confused with overpopulation, we have seen the way the pandemic has cruelly devastated those overcrowded homes, whether they are in the suburbs or in the middle of a dense city, how do these trends mesh well? Traditionally, most cities have a central core and around that there are neighborhoods and we have seen the growing popularity of the neighborhood called the 15-minute city where in an easy 15-minute walk you can find a place to work, go shopping, dining, learning about leisure culture, but already 90 per cent of Londoners, for example, are within a 50-minute walk of a main street and most cities. we have that neighborhood concept, so the opportunity here to develop it further to have a richer mix of activities like industry for example, it's not the dirty chimney practice that it was in the past and zoning is an opportunity to recognize that and whenever sidewalk-level activities reinforce that sense of community and participation through shopping and entertainment, whatever the wonderful movement is to bring much more life to that neighborhood and create a better quality of life in the city , the very core of those trends of taking up less space for transportation making more space available for pedestrians to walk outdoor terraces now we can modify them we have the technology to make them cooler in the heat of summer warmer in the middle of winter so I definitely think that a greater attraction of the outdoors of public space that creates an opportunity to recover a past tradition of planting trees, green spaces and parks that began perhaps in the 17th century and saw its heyday in Paris, for example, in the 19th century We were able to rediscover that tradition, we were able to green our cities and, in short, after the pandemic, our cities could be more beautiful, more attractive, offer more opportunities, be quieter, safer, greener and more fun.