Downtown development did not consider the parking issues, the ability to easily 'get' to the office without traffic backlog, the use of pubic transit inefficient and often confusing, the cost of gas etc. to get to work AND that adds up to 'how much of my life is wasted going to and from work'. I would hate to work downtown & avoid shopping there etc. Those that live there are often facing many homeless problems which seems to be a beacon for those less fortunate to locate. Crime etc then happens & tada - end of downtown glamour.
I agree- but there is a unusual force at play- the labour shortage calling the shots..it’s a rare bit of human experience for population to be fairly large, perhaps not growing, but still not decimated by disease or war, and labour in shortage..as well, I sense those working from home have a sense of entitlement that rankles with those who need actually show up on the assembly line and contributes to societal rift ..and when showing up in a suit or wearing a watch doesn’t happen..people need define themselves as people still do, in other ways- monster SUVs, aggro behaviour at the coffee shop..interesting- many of the empty towers are not the ready solution to housing crisis as might appear..new builds especially are headaches to convert to living space
Excellent article. I agree major changes are morphing commercial urban areas and the transition was pushed forward because of the pandemic. Fortunately, for the last 10+ years of my working life (retired 9 years ago), I had a choice of working from home or my office downtown Toronto. I worked from home 90% of the time and my employer (a major bank) was progressive on that subject. I feel sorry for people who spend hours commuting wasting hours on the road including to cost of commuting. We must adapt to remote work.
Downtown development did not consider the parking issues, the ability to easily 'get' to the office without traffic backlog, the use of pubic transit inefficient and often confusing, the cost of gas etc. to get to work AND that adds up to 'how much of my life is wasted going to and from work'. I would hate to work downtown & avoid shopping there etc. Those that live there are often facing many homeless problems which seems to be a beacon for those less fortunate to locate. Crime etc then happens & tada - end of downtown glamour.
I agree- but there is a unusual force at play- the labour shortage calling the shots..it’s a rare bit of human experience for population to be fairly large, perhaps not growing, but still not decimated by disease or war, and labour in shortage..as well, I sense those working from home have a sense of entitlement that rankles with those who need actually show up on the assembly line and contributes to societal rift ..and when showing up in a suit or wearing a watch doesn’t happen..people need define themselves as people still do, in other ways- monster SUVs, aggro behaviour at the coffee shop..interesting- many of the empty towers are not the ready solution to housing crisis as might appear..new builds especially are headaches to convert to living space
is this not capitalism in action?
Excellent article. I agree major changes are morphing commercial urban areas and the transition was pushed forward because of the pandemic. Fortunately, for the last 10+ years of my working life (retired 9 years ago), I had a choice of working from home or my office downtown Toronto. I worked from home 90% of the time and my employer (a major bank) was progressive on that subject. I feel sorry for people who spend hours commuting wasting hours on the road including to cost of commuting. We must adapt to remote work.
Ya right government can convert these office building to home. Get a life Diane I’m done paying for someone else screwups.
Chuck Guyitt
"Remote work was required" Not really. The reasoning for the Shutdown was largely contrived. In fact, many essential service companies never closed and they suffered less than people who sheltered at home. Herd immunization does have its advantages. https://www.aier.org/article/sweden-despite-variants-no-lockdowns-no-daily-covid-deaths/