Cities in the 2020s - Urban Age Debates

Published by LSE Cities (London School of Economics and Political Science) in partnership with the Alfred Herrhausen Gesellschaft, “Cities in the 2020s – Urban Age Debates” brings together evidence and debate on how cities are responding to rapid change. The publication is edited by Ricky Burdett, Philipp Rode and Anna Herrhausen, and includes contributions from a range of urban thinkers such as Richard Florida, Ayesha Khanna, Janina Kugel, Edward Glaeser and others.

The resource frames the 2020s as a period shaped by three interlinked urban crises: health (COVID-19), inequality, and the climate emergency. It argues that city leadership must protect residents, keep cities liveable and resilient, and restructure urban economies for a more digital era, while also dealing with uncertainty about how people will live, work and move. The programme is organised around five debates: Socialising Remote Work, Humanising the City, Localising Transport, Changing Cultures, and Rationalising Shopping.

On knowledge work and remote work, the publication reports findings from a global survey of 905 urban practitioners and experts from 73 countries (conducted Nov 2020–Jan 2021). Respondents split between two macro-scenarios for the future of knowledge work: 61% expect a major restructuring of knowledge-work locations, while 39% expect a return to pre-crisis patterns. The survey anticipates a shift to hybrid collaboration, with respondents expecting collaboration time to be roughly 36% online, 31% in-person and 33% hybrid. At the same time, majorities agree that working from home or closer to home can reduce business opportunities and agglomeration advantages (53% and 63% respectively).

The report also highlights implications for central business districts and the built environment. One commentary notes that before the pandemic only around 5% of knowledge workers worked primarily from home, but remote work expanded rapidly, with many knowledge workers preferring to work remotely several days a week. A cited estimate suggests demand for central business district office space could fall by around 20–30%, with knock-on effects for service-sector livelihoods and city tax revenues. The text identifies an opportunity to repurpose and remake office districts into live-work neighbourhoods, including the potential to create more affordable housing in areas dominated by obsolete office stock.

Urban design and mobility are presented as central to health, inclusion and sustainability. A second survey on localising transport (342 respondents from 52 countries, May–Jun 2021) finds that 67% believe hyper-localisation—greater proximity between urban functions and a reduced need to travel—is more likely than dispersal. Respondents also expect an absolute increase in active travel (walking/cycling/e-bikes) (83%) and a reduction in commuting and business travel intensity (77%). Nearly all respondents (98%) agree that public transport is a public good and backbone of sustainable urban development, and 91% agree that widespread private car use in dense inner-city areas is incompatible with a healthy, walkable and just city.

Across debates, the publication links sustainability with mixed-use neighbourhoods, reallocation of street space, and equitable access to opportunities. It emphasises that proximity-based models (including “15-minute city” ideas) must avoid exclusion and should be paired with measures that connect neighbourhoods and improve access for disadvantaged groups. For housing and urban regeneration, the resource repeatedly points to the value of adaptive reuse, flexible building typologies, and place-making approaches that create inclusive public spaces—positioning these as practical responses to climate constraints, social inequality, and changing patterns of work, travel and consumption.