Urban Competitiveness and the Post-COVID City

Exploring the impacts of the severe disruption caused by COVID-19 on major cities, Peter Karl Kresl expertly expands upon the nature of the challenges this has posed. He examines the policies that local leaders can adopt to limit long-lasting negative impacts and renew cities’ vitality and competitiveness.

Kresl conducts a unique investigation into how even the most internationally engaged cities and larger urban regions can decline in competitiveness and identifies opportunities for how they might regain it. Chapters cover measures introduced to protect populations, such as distance working, and how these created issues for central business districts, subsequently decreasing the quality of life for workers dependent on retail and hospitality sales in these areas. Using examples from Europe, North America, and Oceania, the book details the process of regaining urban competitiveness and provides a guide for policymakers on how to manage future existential threats to urban areas.

Urban Competitiveness and the Post-COVID City is an invaluable resource for students and researchers of urban economics and policy. Policymakers will also find essential recommendations for public policy as well as analysis of the urban consequences of social distancing and work-from-home measures.