A century ago, factories began being replaced by gleaming skyscrapers occupied by white-collar workers. But now, in the aftermath of the pandemic, many of today’s skyscrapers have emptied out, as more workers opt to work from home. And there’s no path to see that changing back to what was previously “normal” anytime soon — remote work is here to stay, and that will cause reverberations through the landscape.
While it’s not clear yet what the resulting “see-through” skyscrapers will become, what is apparent is that an office-centric downtown will soon be a thing of the past, Business Insider reports.
With demand for housing in cities skyrocketing, the most obvious next step would be to turn empty offices into apartments and condos. Such work has been sluggish, at least so far. But for the sake of their ongoing economic vitality, it’s in cities’ best interest to figure out how to quickly convert office-centric downtowns into something more suitable for everyone, Business Insider concludes.
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