Face-to-Face and Central Place: Covid and the Prospects for Cities

Abstract

This contribution looks at how great-city working life and business are increasingly oriented towards the activities in high-added-value trades and 'opaque' markets, where face-to-face interactions are still a vital part of what they offer. It argues that whilst the pandemic has undoubtedly hit hard, its longer-term impacts should not be over-stressed: the world cities look set for continued dominance, centrality and scale will still be vital for the smaller conurbations, and the prospects for more peripheral locations may not be as positive as proponents of ex-urban flight might anticipate.