Today, I was chatting with a friend about how the pandemic had caused him to question a number of things, such as regulation of small businesses. In his city, to operate a consulting practice from home, he would need a municipal license; but for the past ten days, anyone that can work from home has been doing so with seemingly no impact on municipal services or infrastructure. So…does the regulation need a re-think?
I’d love to hear from those working in planning and public administration:
- How is the pandemic changing what you do in your daily job?
- (e.g. online meetings, online engagement sessions, suspension of planning activities altogether) Which services been classified as essential?
- What do you think will change in the shift from “emergency mode” (just getting through a week or two) to “short-term mode” (thinking several months into the future, say until the end of summer)
- e.g. some transit authorities are temporarily offering transit for free to avoid cash or ticket payments to protect the drivers, but we know this can’t go on forever.
- What do you think the challenges will be in returning to “normal” routines, practices, and plan-making? Will there be a new “normal” in planning for housing, public health, transportation, public spaces?
Reply in the comments below!
