What Are Some Positive Future Trends?

Creative Solutions Emerge in From These Difficult Times

Today, in the news we heard something positive. Cities around the world are thinking creatively about how to adapt to the new normal.  Streets normally filled with cars will be closed allowing people to spread out and take advantage of more green space. 

More Green Space For All

Stanley Park is a (1,001-acre) public park that borders the downtown of Vancouver  in British Columbia, Canada.  Vehicles are banned from the park to avoid overcrowding. On a typical hot summer day, the park used to be packed with people.  Now only walkers, joggers, "roller bladers" and people on bikes will visit the park.  This will significantly decrease the number of people, which  is better for the environment and will make visiting the park a more positive experience.  

People Continue to Adapt

After this time of uncertainty, lots of people will continue to work from home. This means fewer cars on the road. Fewer people will be using transit.  There will be a decrease in the amount of office space required. A shift in our behaviour creates a ripple affect in numerous industries.

We've Come A Long Way in a Short Time

There will still be an adjustment to working at home.  An ad on TV said "Digital connection is human connection." "Commutes have moved from the highway to the hallway" and "Computers have become classrooms." Wow! ... brilliant marketing and this in just a couple short months.

Downtown Cores Re-Purposing?

In Vancouver,  the trend has been to have people move back into the downtown core.  This pandemic may slow this trend down globally for a while.  But if the world’s cities find ways to adjust, as they have historically, their greatest era could be still to come.

According to a recent article: “The best [mall] locations, where you can provide alternative uses with apartments and office space and other creative uses, will continue to do relatively better” 

As e-commerce continues to gain ground, warehouse space will become an increasingly attractive investment, noting that e-retailers need more warehousing capacity than traditional retailers.

Sharing Sidewalks With Delivery Robots

We could soon be sharing the sidewalks with robots that are making deliveries.  Although, safeguards will need to be in place before robot deliveries become mainstream, this is a future trend. Robot deliveries could become commonplace.