Has the pandemic killed the city as we know it? In the Chinese new area of Xionguan the state is backing an ambitious plan for a more self-contained way of living. Will others follow?
The post-pandemic city: China bets on the new normal
Has the pandemic killed the city as we know it? In the Chinese new area of Xionguan the state is backing an ambitious plan for a more self-contained way of living. Will others follow?
Three years ago, Xiong'an was billed as "the city of the future". In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, that future looks less certain.
Guallart Architects, from Barcelona, have drawn up a scheme for the new technology and education hub. It is a picture of post-pandemic living that might disrupt the idea of the city itself.
China is investing trillions of yuan to build apartment blocks with locked-down living in mind. The focus is on green space, 5G connectivity and self-sufficiency. Communal greenhouses will provide extra food, and 3D printers will compensate for breakdowns in the supply chain.
With its eco-futuristA style that seems at once modern and environmentally friendly. Futurism began as an Italian art movement in the early twentieth century. The futurists were obsessed with machinery and speed, but the term has since come to refer to attempts to imagine new styles of art and architecture., timber-and-glass design, the project looks more like a hi-tech village than a towering cityscape of yoreOld-fashioned. It is in fact an old-fashioned way of saying "old-fashioned" that tends to allow for extra emphasis..
Some argue that the forces that give cities their gravitational pull - offices, street-commerce and nightlife - are waningGrowing smaller or weaker. The term comes from the phases of the moon, which also waxes as it grows larger. in a world where fewer workers will see the inside of an office, and where dancing can be dangerous. If, as some argue, more pandemics are coming, cities have to change.
Could they become more like villages? Around the world, urbanists have started calling for a "15-minute city", where all the trips citizens need to make can be completed on foot or by bike within that time, avoiding risky public transport.
Those who see change on the horizon point to previous revolutions in urban design, many occasioned by disease. The wide boulevards of Paris, for example, are the legacy of cholera epidemics; they were intended to stop the spread of miasmaAn unhealthy air or vapour. Until the 1880s, most scientists in the West believed that diseases were spread by bad air. This theory was replaced by the germ theory of disease, but belief in the discredited idea actually drove a great number of improvements to public sanitation and sewage systems. through narrow streets.
In the UK, more people are leaving inner London in search of space. Those who once wanted a choice of tapas bars nearby, apparently now want gardens. Cities, some argue, must redesign themselves to fit new needs and new priorities.
Some, however, are less sanguineOptimistic. The term comes from an old medical theory, when the body's workings were thought to be governed by "humours". These were four fluids: blood, phlegm, black bile and yellow bile. A person's temperament was determined by which humour was dominant; so having more blood than bile apparently put you in a better mood. about the new possibilities for urban life. Cheerleaders for cities often praise them for promoting public gatherings and chance encounters. From Athens to Florence, Manchester to Mumbai, cities have been hubs for free-thinking and innovation. Will this be possible in self-contained 15-minute units?n
Others are sceptical about a revolution in urban design for different reasons. After all, cholera was not in fact spread by miasma. Paris's boulevards were as helpful for the quick deployment of troops as for disease prevention. More contained urban areas may benefit state control, as well as public health.
Lockdown, and the threat of it, creates needs that current cities struggle to meet. Urban planners are racing to satisfy these conditions without cutting cities off from what made them attractive to so many.
<h5 class="eplus-QeTKwd">So, has the pandemic killed the city as we know it?</h5>
The city is dead, say some. If remote work and remote learning become standard, the city centre will not attract people's attention. If it remains hard to congregate in large groups or in small spaces, or to take public transport, the conventional charms of urban living will disappear. Many people who can work from home will leave cities, or leave them unrecognisable.
Long live the city, say others. People have predicted their decline before. The telegram and telephone were once thought to eliminate the need for offices, yet here we are. Workers in many industries will still have to live near workplaces and people will still want things to do together and places to gather. The 15-minute city is a welcome addition, and will help ensure the city lasts forever.
Eco-futurist - A style that seems at once modern and environmentally friendly. Futurism began as an Italian art movement in the early twentieth century. The futurists were obsessed with machinery and speed, but the term has since come to refer to attempts to imagine new styles of art and architecture.
Yore - Old-fashioned. It is in fact an old-fashioned way of saying "old-fashioned" that tends to allow for extra emphasis.
Waning - Growing smaller or weaker. The term comes from the phases of the moon, which also waxes as it grows larger.
Miasma - An unhealthy air or vapour. Until the 1880s, most scientists in the West believed that diseases were spread by bad air. This theory was replaced by the germ theory of disease, but belief in the discredited idea actually drove a great number of improvements to public sanitation and sewage systems.
Sanguine - Optimistic. The term comes from an old medical theory, when the body's workings were thought to be governed by "humours". These were four fluids: blood, phlegm, black bile and yellow bile. A person's temperament was determined by which humour was dominant; so having more blood than bile apparently put you in a better mood.
The post-pandemic city: China bets on the new normal

Glossary
Eco-futurist - A style that seems at once modern and environmentally friendly. Futurism began as an Italian art movement in the early twentieth century. The futurists were obsessed with machinery and speed, but the term has since come to refer to attempts to imagine new styles of art and architecture.
Yore - Old-fashioned. It is in fact an old-fashioned way of saying "old-fashioned" that tends to allow for extra emphasis.
Waning - Growing smaller or weaker. The term comes from the phases of the moon, which also waxes as it grows larger.
Miasma - An unhealthy air or vapour. Until the 1880s, most scientists in the West believed that diseases were spread by bad air. This theory was replaced by the germ theory of disease, but belief in the discredited idea actually drove a great number of improvements to public sanitation and sewage systems.
Sanguine - Optimistic. The term comes from an old medical theory, when the body's workings were thought to be governed by "humours". These were four fluids: blood, phlegm, black bile and yellow bile. A person's temperament was determined by which humour was dominant; so having more blood than bile apparently put you in a better mood.