Superstar Cities Are Struggling Now, But Could Recover to Gain Even More Economic Power

According to Clara Hendrickson and Mark Muro, "the pandemic might intensify the unevenness of America’s divergent economy, with disturbing implications."

Because the coronavirus first spread through affluent urban centers—San Francisco, Seattle, and New York City—some have wondered whether the pandemic would bring about a more geographically balanced economy by inspiring white collar workers will move in droves to less expensive parts of the country that could badly use the economic boost. "Don't bet on it," write Hendrickson and Muro. "Despite the increasing adoption of digital technology in American workplaces, economic activity has become more—not less—concentrated," according to the duo.  As for why:

...while the density of large cities may be a disadvantage in fighting the spread of the coronavirus, it likely will remain an advantage in a 21st century knowledge economy, where the biggest places with the richest exchanges of ideas among highly educated workers have enjoyed the greatest economic returns. 

The article also examines the pandemic's unequal consequences within cities (i.e., not just the inequality between cities and regions)—as neighborhoods in some of these cities, filled by blue collar workers keeping the economy afloat while bearing the brunt of the public health consequences of the pandemic.