Guest editorial

[...]entire city blocks and business districts that were previously lively from dusk until dawn were transformed into virtual “ghost towns” seemingly overnight. Because of the growing uncertainty about COVID-19, and the ensuing public debate around sustaining the global economy during the first half of 2020, the Journal of Corporate Real Estate has announced a call for papers for a special issue devoted to manuscripts on the aftermath of the pandemic and the workplace-related challenges that the lockdown has caused. Building their findings upon a desktop study and qualitative interviews with both corporate real estate managers and well with workplace consultants, Huiying (Cynthia) Hou, Hilde Remøy, Tuuli Jylhä and Herman Vande Putte report that office modifications have been predominantly related to need for personal protection of workers and administrative control that resulted in agile portfolio strategies and redesign of the office workplaces.