Already, cities are buzzing with WhatsApp messages and emails on three key facets of urban life—public transport, restaurants and commercial zones, and social spaces Raju Gola is so bored with the lockdown he sneaks out of his home every day to open his auto audio systems shop in south Delhi’s Khan Market for a few hours.
Now he has a bigger worry: “What happens when the crowds actually start coming?" As cities limber up for business after two months of covid-induced slumber, that’s a question puzzling city managers and urban planners.
Some of them are predicting permanent changes to how cities operate, look and feel. Masks and gloves are a given. But there’s lots more. “For the last 20 years, we have been talking about compact high-rise