City Talks

City Talks: Face-to-face interaction and why cities still matter in the information age

Many expect the Coronavirus pandemic to bring about a working from home revolution. In this podcast Jonathan Reades and Martin Crookston join Andrew Carter to discuss face-to-face interaction and why cities still matter in the information age.

Podcast published on 28 May 2020

Many expect the Coronavirus pandemic to bring about a working from home revolution. But while technology means that some work can be done anywhere, cities remain the setting for allowing the face-to-face economy to function.

What is it about face-to-face interaction that means firms are willing to pay eye-watering rents to locate in city centres? What aspects behaviour cannot be replicated online? And will the initial decision by some firms to allow more home-working last beyond the pandemic?

This week, Andrew Carter is joined by Jonathan Reades, Senior Lecturer in Quantitative Human Geography at King’s College London and Martin Crookston, strategic planning consultant and former member of the Urban Task Force, to discuss face-to-face interaction and why cities still matter in the information age.

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