> Once people could work from home, they decided they didn't want to live in a city anymore.

IMO it’s too early to claim that. People left the city during the pandemic because there was no point paying the premium to live in a city when all its amenities are closed. As cities open back up we might see a lot of people return. Anecdotally, I know a bunch of early career folks in their 20s that moved back in with their parents during the pandemic to save cash. That most certainly isn’t their long term plan.

I don’t doubt that a good number of folks won’t return to the city once this is over. But I wonder if that’s just an acceleration of moves they would have already made in the next 5 years or so, rather than something indicative of the death of cities.

I agree. As for most things, the internet narrative exaggerates reality. New York is already quickly coming back to normal -- certainly slower than before, but offices aren't open yet. Once they open, the intangible benefits of being in the office will re-appear, and result in the same cultural forces that have led to cities for ~all of human civilization.

People who are betting against urban life are basically making a bet against human nature based on short-term trends.

Cities are certainly not the norm when looking at "~all of human civilization.". The norm by far is small anarchic-communal villages (150 people or less). Yes, eventually some outliers form, and villages become a large metropolis, with all of the problems and certain pitfalls that entails.

You're forgetting the key bit: It was during a pandemic, and so especially during the first 6-12 months, people didn't feel safe being around others. They also often legally didn't have any space outside they could enjoy. Suburbs bring personal space and the legal right to be in your back yard.

A city is an entirely different experience when its residents are allowed to use parks and can enjoy dining out, walking to a market, strolling to the cinema, etc...

This is such a bizarre comment. Do you think people will just forget how easily it was for their entire lifestyle to become illegal? Do you think those that moved to the suburb will forget the incredible freedom they purchased?

I think the pandemic highlighted a key deficiency of cities which most people will not soon forget.

Yup. In between the waves of lockdowns, cities were actually more pleasant to be in than they normally are - with so many offices closed, there was a lot less people and cars on the streets, meaning less pollution and less noise.

Without the commuter rush, many places were much more pleasant. I'm in a suburban area and it used to be a solid hour of "line 'o cars" on the main street by my house. God forbid you want to go somewhere at 5pm or 8am.

Now it's more congested, but traffic still moves pretty quick. I'm not looking forward to all the commuters going back to the office.

"for a brief period during unprecedented times, a city apartment was as pleasent to live in as a proper house. This has quickly passed."

Almost. A proper house still has more space, and less noise constraints :).

I downsized to one car during the pandemic. The only reason I had two cars was because we were a family of commuters. Now that no one in the house is commuting, there's little point to owning and maintaining multiple cars.

And the one car I do have could potentially last me the rest of my life because I've gone from commuting 12k miles per year (time 2), down to around 3000.

The past year also saw a 50%+ spike in urban violent crime rates, and repeated riots in nearly every major city. Anecdotally most of the professional families I know who fled to the suburbs cited safety as the primary reason.

citation please.

Second had car prices have soared and people might not be keep to go back to jammed public transport due to covid.

My last two bus trips had betwen1 and 5 people blatantly ignoring the mask requirements and this is in on of the UK covid hot spots.