Cities could be MORE important post-pandemic, not less, suggests report from Citi and University of Oxford

Paradoxically, more in-person work environments and the concentration of jobs in cities could be a medium- to long-term impact of the pandemic’s shift to remote working, suggests Citi GPS Technology at Work: The Coming of the Post-Production Society, a report produced by Citi and the Oxford Martin School at the University of Oxford.

The report cites the automation of manufacturing and clerical tasks, alongside the potential for professional services jobs that can be done remotely to be done cheaper overseas, as the start of a foundational shift in developed economies. The future of work in these countries, it suggests, could be based largely on innovation, exploration and creative thinking, which require face-to-face interaction and geographic proximity.

“Jobs that can be done remotely can often also be automated and offshored, meaning that occupations that centre on the kind of sporadic interactions that drive innovation will become an ever-grow