Log in

Maxwell: What will Scottsdale’s evolution be post COVID-19?

Posted

One of the economic byproducts of the COVID crisis is that many companies transitioned quickly to their employees working from home. Now nearly 4.5 months into the pandemic, a prolonged work-from-home effort will be the norm.

Companies with large employee counts are working to establish safe protocols for return efforts. The question of productivity and the need for office space is emerging.

Now that companies have settled into work from home, do they need to return to an office environment? And if they do, will they occupy the same footprint as before? Or will companies need more space to accommodate the new social distancing practices that experts say we will need? Where do cities fit into this question?

I have long been an advocate of more class A office space in Scottsdale. This will help us diversify our economy with high-wage employers. This begs the question: do our cities require office buildings with large workforces in the future?

Last week on the podcast, Deep Background with Noah Feldman, he provided insights into these questions. People are naturally social creatures. It is inherent for us to want to congregate and engage with others --- especially when we come off the prolonged isolation from the lockdown.

In Scottsdale, we know this all too well. As soon as some of our bars opened, people flocked to enjoy an evening out with friends. They did so with disregard for the recommended protocols that accompanied the opening of businesses.

As unfortunate as that was, it reminded us that cities and urban cores are resilient. Cities are not just government entities; they also provide an informal distributed network of support, protection and belonging.

As city budgets struggle with reduced tax revenue, they will need to reevaluate what it means to be a city. Cities may evolve from being government-centric top-down organizations to a flexible, more accommodating type of urbanism.

In short downtown Scottsdale may grow to be more of a hybrid mixed-use commercial model rather than what we have known in the past. Regardless the economic prosperity for downtown still looks very bright.

As Scottsdale deals with the COVID aftermath, there may be some opportunities to redefine our city. Until then the economic road may be disruptive and unpredictable, but Scottsdale has proven time and time again that it is capable of change.

In the future, perhaps Scottsdale can be defined as the “West’s most Western and Resilient Town.”

Editor’s Note: Kevin Maxwell is a candidate for Scottsdale City Council in the upcoming Aug. 4 primary election.