Planning for Post-pandemic Downtowns of Mid-size Urban Areas

ABSTRACT There is widespread consensus that the Covid pandemic has had significant negative effects on cities and city life. In an online survey, urban planners were asked to identify the attributes that contributed to the success of the downtowns of mid-size urban areas prior to the pandemic as well as the attributes that would facilitate their post-pandemic recovery. While some urban scholars expect that recovery will lead to a ‘new normal’, the planners surveyed here are largely focused on restoring the ‘old normal’.