Have we learnt anything from the Covid-19 outbreak?

It is quickly becoming obvious that the world lacks the capacity to learn! The supposed “new normal” is starting to resemble the old normal. Commercial property owners in cities want governments to “encourage” workers to return to offices and no thought has been given to how they get there? In a few weeks’ time we will be back to standing on crowded trains and buses, with pollution hitting the roof yet again, in our “new normal”

Over 6 months of ample thinking and re-thinking time appear to have drifted by. I recently read some articles suggesting measures that could keep our city centres vibrant without a return to pre-Covid conditions. Perhaps some commercial buildings could be repurposed as residential to allow for short walks or cycling to offices, more mixed-use neighbourhoods in city centres – accepting there are other challenges that brings. But my point is: where is the leadership? where is the innovation? a week or two from now, employers will demand workers return to offices (no doubt the usual ineffectual phrases such as “only if safe to..” will be bandied around, but essentially, you will likely lose your job if you don’t) and the next time anyone mention crowded trains or pollution, we will all be too busy forcing our way onto the next crowded train to pay any attention.

Attention has shifted to installing glass screens and floor markings, wall-mounted hand sanitisers etc. Those bold, ambitious statements from back in April 2020, when we all witnessed the drastic reductions in pollution resulting from Covid-19 lockdown are all a blur. Yes, the economy and getting people back to city centres and jobs that can’t be done from home, is urgent and it is the right thing to do, BUT could we not have used the past 6 months to come up with innovation that will achieve that while retaining some of the benefits (to the environment, to mental wellbeing etc) that the elimination of overcrowding of public transportation (as a single example) has shown us? Employers should have come up with new ideas e.g. formalising home-working (with occasional visits to offices) for roles that clearly do not need to be present in offices or creating new shift patterns that shifts peak time commuting to drive down the numbers needing to stuff themselves on trains and buses each day of the week. ANYTHING REALLY, anything that demonstrates we have learned something from this pandemic other than a waiting game to then return to a “new normal” that no one can differentiate from the old pre-Covid normal (other than masks becoming fashionable or elimination of handshakes….)

What a missed opportunity!