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2020/10/14 - Walter's Blog: Recent ICMA Lessons

Democracy on the Front Lines
City Administrator’s Blog
Walter Denton
 

What will our communities be like post-pandemic? While we continue to follow safety guidelines, we also need to look into the future to position O’Fallon to prosper whenever the pandemic ends. At a recent virtual conference, one the keynote presentations was by urbanist Richard Florida on “Urban Development in the COVID Age.”

Here are some of the highlights from the presentation:

  1. The economic effects from the pandemic are not new, but the crisis accelerated trends that were already occurring. Online sales and remote working were already increasing but exploded during the pandemic.
  2. Urbanization is greater than pandemics. History is full of pandemics that did nothing to quell the movement of people to cities, and this pandemic will be the same. Major cities will recover due to the continuing influx young professionals and the benefits of proximity to high tech, finance, media, and entertainment.
  3. Suburbs and exurbs will also benefit. Smaller cities will be more attractive with lower cost of living and remote work opportunities. People will also seek green space and “rural gentrification” will increase with city dwellers moving to the country.
  4. There will be more emphasis on sense of place. With more people working from home, there will be more emphasis on local amenities and unique experiences, such as festivals, markets, and entertainment.
  5. People will desire “complete communities” based on walkability and accessibility rather than cars and commutes. Known as the 15-minute city, proximity and convenience to services will be valued over highways.
  6. We should not aspire to get back to normal. In this “The Great Reset,” we should use this as a once-in-a-century opportunity to build communities better. We should evaluate what we have learned during this challenging environment and improve ourselves and our community.

You have an opportunity to participate in this endeavor. We will soon provide feedback tools for all O’Fallon residents to be involved in our Master Plan process. Public engagement will look a little different in a COVID world, but there will be online polls, online discussion forums, virtual open houses, stakeholder interviews, focus groups, and community conversation kits. I hope you will make the effort to share your vision for O’Fallon’s future as we take advantage of “The Great Reset.”

Comments or questions?