How to Kickstart an Urban Resurgence

Writing in Route Fifty, Molly Bolan comments that “the rise of remote work has permanently changed urban economies, and cities are going to have to double down on their strengths to attract more residents.” Referencing a study of six powerhouse U.S. cities that, in the past, wooed big corporations to develop their economies, Bolan writes that they will now have to shift their focus to luring residents with other amenities. “Without the call of the office bringing people downtown, cities and states will need to get creative in finding new ways to keep metro economies afloat.”

“Between 2020 and 2022, the six cities were among those that saw the greatest declines in population in the country, with New York losing more than 400,000 residents in those two years, according to the Census Bureau. Meanwhile, nine of the 15 fastest-growing cities in the U.S. are in Southern states and four are in the West, thanks to lower housing costs, shorter commutes, and remote work.”

According to Doug Howgate, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, “At a fundamental level, your economy and your society only succeed if you have the resource of people.” In the case of Boston, which previously relied on downtown workers, the city has launched a $1 billion life sciences initiative that seeks to support the city’s biopharmaceutical industry and create new opportunities for people to live and work there.

Howgate notes that there is no ‘silver bullet’ for maintaining growth, and that disruptions like the pandemic will likely continue. Cities must identify their unique advantages: “Building a strong urban economy requires understanding the complex relationships around housing, life sciences, federal funding and taxes,” says Howgate.