Will more working from home kill our cities and reduce house prices?

In the third part of our series on the future of the workplace, Ben Chu asks what the impact of abandoning the office would be on our major cities and living costs – and also whether this could help the economic rebalancing of the UK

What would a major shift in working practice mean for our big cities like London? Could it send them into decline? (Getty)

Many cities in the UK, particularly London, have prospered in recent decades. Our major urban centres have grown in terms of population, productivity and creativity – yet the coronavirus lockdown this year emptied them of visitors and many workers too, as millions of white-collar employees switched to working from home.

Ministers now want to encourage office workers back to their jobs in city centres. But many think working from home is now likely to become a permanent feature of the post-Covid economy. It’s certainly what many workers seem to want.

So what would such a shift in working practice mean for our cities? Could it send them into a long-term decline?