I have been reading quite a bit about this recently and it seems that the hearts have been ripped out of most major cities, our own Vancouver included. It is projected here is Canada, and I believe in the States too, that 60% of restaurants will not survive the year. The major reasons to endure the difficulties of any urban centre, like traffic, parking, line ups etc. are the entertainment, restaurants, and jobs.
Jobs are now being done effectively from home, commercial real estate in New York is down 54% YOY, mostly as a result of companies lack of need for square footage. This will likely never return as it is now proven that people working at home get more done than at the office. So all those people not eating at restaurants, not dropping by the bar after work, not shopping on the way home. Recently in Vancouver BC, one long time restaurant owner gave up his business as he is now cleaning up human waste every morning before work just to clear his front door, and we are having pretty good virus numbers here over all.
The Covid shot a major whole in an already desperately weak global economy based almost completely on debt, and the bullseye on that target was city centres.
