Are Cities Obsolete? Urbanism After COVID

Through human history, individual cities and even urbanism itself have weathered cycles of growth and decline. We've rediscovered the virtues of urban density in fostering innovation, environmental efficiency and cultural enrichment. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, we may have been struggling to make these benefits more widely shared, but the fact that a potentially fatal virus has spread merely by physical proximity calls into question the very value proposition of cities. Past catastrophes, from 9/11 to Katrina, have not reversed the trend toward urban concentration. Will settlement need to disperse in order to protect human health, or can cities adapt to the need for social distance? Does the pandemic present the chance to re-think how cities in general--and Boston in particular--can be not only safer, but also more equitable and environmentally responsible? This distinguished panel of thinkers and doers will ruminate on our urban future in the wake of the coronavirus.